


Can YOU save Delphine?

by lesbian_geek_spiral



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Also a lot of different tags, Angst, CYOA, Choose Your Own Adventure, F/F, Fix It Fic, Fluff, it depends on the story you choose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 18:07:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 69
Words: 32,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbian_geek_spiral/pseuds/lesbian_geek_spiral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are Cosima, and you might be kinda worried about Delphine. She’s acting strange and you have to make the right decisions in order to save her. At the end of every page, you must make a choice, leading to the next page. There are 74 different storylines, and 30 endings. Not all of them are happy, though most are; it is your job to find a good ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In order to make a decision, don’t press next chapter, but click the link, or find the corresponding chapter number in the list at the top-right of the page. I will try get the links working, but it might take me an hour or so, and since there over 110 choices, I might make a mistake. If you find that a chapter doesn’t correspond with the choice you made before clicking the link, please let me know! Have fun, and I’d love to know what endings you find, and which are your favourites.
> 
> This fic was inspired by a comment by the lovely trylonandperisphere over here. And it would not be here without the relentless encouragement and grammatical help of suyurisan. Thank you both!

Delphine’s warm lips press against your own cold mouth, making your heart beat faster than it has in weeks. Much sooner than you’d like, Delphine takes a step back, breaking the kiss.

“Give your sisters all my love,” Delphine says. She has tears in her eyes, and a sad smile on her face. Her gloved fingers softly tap your lips, before she walks away.

You’re still overwhelmed with the unexpected direction this meeting outside Alison’s soap store has taken. Though you had been planning to apologize to Delphine, the way she forgives you so readily, surprises you. Stunned, you watch Delphine get in her car and drive into the dark night.

As you stand in the cold air, you wonder whether Delphine was crying solely out of relief for what you told her, or perhaps there was more to it. The odd mention of that old promise to love your sisters, as well as refusing to come inside, makes you wonder if maybe something is wrong with Delphine. With an uneasy feeling in your stomach, you consider whether you should do something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Go after Delphine: [[ 2 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729788)  
> \- Call Delphine to ask what is wrong: [[ 3 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729800)  
> \- Forget about it and go back inside: [[ 4 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729818)
> 
> _All the links should be working by now. Sorry, it took me way longer than an hour, that was a lot of work! If you find any links that bring you to the wrong chapter, please comment on it so I can change it. Have fun with it, and let me know where you end up!_


	2. Chapter 2

You figure that you might still catch up with Delphine. Without hesitating any longer, you run in the direction she drove off in. Turning around the corner at the end of the block, you can just see her car turning right at the traffic light a few hundred yards away.

By the time you have reached the intersection, you have lost sight of the car. You are already out of breath, but don’t give up. With a brisk pace, you can’t manage running any longer; you wander the streets for a while in the hope of catching a glimpse of Delphine.

After a short while, you realize that this is no use, you’ll never catch up with a car on foot. You are starting to feel another coughing fit coming up and you give up on wandering about by yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Go back to Bubbles for a car: [[ 5 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729869)  
> \- Call for backup: [[ 6 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729881)  
> \- Find a cab to bring you to Delphine: [[ 7 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729890)


	3. Chapter 3

You dig your phone out of the pocket of your red coat. The sound was turned off, but now that you’re holding it in your hand, you see that Shay is calling. You have several missed calls from her; she has been trying to call you for a while now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Answer the phone: [[ 8 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729899)  
> \- Ignore Shay and call Delphine instead: [[ 9 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729917)


	4. Chapter 4

With a last look down the road where Delphine has disappeared, you shrug the uneasy feeling off and walk back into the warm store. 

Inside, everybody is too engaged in their conversations and the food to notice you coming in. They are laughing and free of worries. All the sisters are together after all, how bad can things be? Quietly, you take off your hat and coat and slip back into your seat between Felix and Scott.

Just when you’re chewing some already cold green beans, Scott turns towards you and says, “Cosima, where did you go suddenly?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Scott: 
> 
> \- The truth: [[ 10 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729920)  
> \- A lie: [[ 11 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729935)


	5. Chapter 5

Just as you decide to head back to Bubbles, you realize that you have no idea where exactly you are. In your fanatic search, you haven’t been paying attention to where you were going. All these suburban houses look very similar.

You attempt to retrace your steps, but it is no use; you are completely lost. You are out of breath, and getting very cold in the Canadian winter night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Ask the lady walking her dog on the other side of the street for directions: [[ 12 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729950)  
> \- Call for backup: [[ 13 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729965)  
> \- Call Delphine: [[ 14 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729986)


	6. Chapter 6

You dig your phone out of the pocket of your red coat. The sound was turned off, but now that you’re holding it in your hand, you see that you have several missed calls from Shay. She also left several texts asking you to come over, or at least call her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
>  
> 
> \- Call Shay: [[ 16 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730013)  
> \- Ignore Shay and call for backup instead: [[ 15 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729998)


	7. Chapter 7

You dig your phone out of the pocket of your red coat. The sound was turned off, but now that you’re holding it in your hand, you see that you have several missed calls from Shay. She also left several texts asking you to come over, or at least call her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Call Shay: [[ 16 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730013)  
> \- Ignore Shay and call Delphine instead: [[ 17 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730025)


	8. Chapter 8

You press the green button, and answer the call.

On the other side of the line, Shay sounds relieved that you finally picked up. She tells you that Delphine came by her home again this afternoon. Shay rambles on about how scary your ex girlfriend is and how weird she acted. 

This is no new information; Shay has said so many times before. It is strange that Delphine did not only apologise to you, but to Shay as well. 

You tell Shay about your meeting with Delphine just now; it seems to only anger Shay. She asks you to come over; she wants to show you something Delphine has left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Shay: 
> 
> \- That you’re on your way: [[ 18 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730037)  
> \- That you are busy right now: [[ 19 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730043)


	9. Chapter 9

You press the red button, and find Delphine in your contact list. You call her, but after what seems like an eternity, you get her voicemail.

Of course you leave a message telling her you’re worried, and ask her to call you as soon as possible. Just to be safe, you also leave a couple of text messages. She is probably just driving, and can’t pick up the phone, yet for some reason, you're still worried about her not answering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Go inside to get some help: [[ 20 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730046)  
> \- Keep calling Delphine, she might answer soon: [[ 21 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730049)


	10. Chapter 10

You explain to Scott that you just met Delphine outside, but she had refused to come inside. You tell him that she kissed you, and then ran away crying after asking you to give your sisters all her love.

The more you talk, the deeper his frown becomes. Once you’re finished talking, he reacts shocked. “Maybe you should go after her,” he suggests. “It sounds like something was wrong. Maybe she is in trouble, it would not be the first time somebody is.” He gestures at the rest of the people at the table.

You have a look at the people around you. They have all been in trouble one way or another in the past couple of months. Scott might be right, Delphine has angered enough powerful people in her quest to help project Leda, and maybe she really is in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Agree with Scott, Delphine might be in trouble: [[ 22 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730055)  
> \- Ask Felix for a second opinion: [[ 23 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730058)  
> \- Ignore Scott’s warning, he’s paranoid and it is none of his business: [[ 24 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730064)


	11. Chapter 11

You tell Scott that you went out for a smoke. He looks suspicious but he doesn’t press the issue.

The rest of the evening you spend making casual conversation with Felix on one side, and more serious plans about setting up a private lab with Scott. Now that both of you are fired, you will need another place to work with the data you’ve collected from Malone.

Long after Sarah and Mrs. S. have left to get Kira and Malone to hide out in Iceland, you go home with Felix to get some sleep. All night you have a nagging feeling about Delphine, but you made up your mind when you told Scott that you went out for a smoke, instead of telling the truth.

The next morning, you are woken up by a call. It is Scott; he had gone to the DYAD institute to pick up the last of his things and had found Delphine in the parking garage. He had tried to resuscitate her, but she must have been dead for a while. She had grown cold already and had lost a lot of blood. Apparently, she had been shot in the stomach and slowly bled out alone in the underground parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, you failed to save Delphine! Try again: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	12. Chapter 12

Shivering, you quickly cross the road. “Excuse me,” you say. “Can I ask you something?”

The stranger turns around and nods. Her dog sniffs your feet.

“Do you know where Bubbles is?” You ask her, “It’s this cute soap store somewhere around here.” You gesture vaguely in the direction you think you came from.

“Uhm,” she thinks for a while. In the dark you can hardly see her face as she frowns deeply. “It is just a few blocks away. If you turn right over there,” she points in the direction you came from. “And take a left at the next opportunity, you can’t miss it.”

“All right, thanks so much. Have a nice evening,” you say, and start walking in the direction she pointed.

Behind your back, the lady yells, “But they are probably closed at this time!” 

You wave, indicating that you’ve heard her. Of course the store is closed, you do not want to be there to buy soap. With large strides you hurry back to the store. It doesn’t take you very long, the woman’s directions were quite clear, and correct.

The run and then a hurried walk were a tough exercise for your ailing lungs, you are breathing hard, but you take no time to catch your breath. You barge into the store; the bell above the door jingles cheerfully.

The sudden noise stops all conversation, the entire clone club stops talking and eating to look at you. After a moment of shocked silence, Mrs. S. asks, “What’s wrong, love?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Mrs. S.: 
> 
> \- Delphine is acting weird: [[ 25 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730067)  
> \- No time to explain; just ask for her car: [[ 26 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730076)


	13. Chapter 13

You dig your phone out of the pocket of your red coat. The sound was turned all the way down, but now that you’re holding it in your hand, you see that you have several missed calls from Shay. She also left a few texts, asking you to come over, or at least call her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Call Shay back: [[ 16 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730013)  
> \- Ignore Shay and call for backup instead: [[ 27 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730082)


	14. Chapter 14

You dig your phone out of the pocket of your red coat. The sound was turned off, but now that you’re holding it in your hand, you see that you have a couple of missed calls from Shay. She also left five texts, asking you to come over to her place, or at least call her back as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Call Shay back: [[ 16 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730013)  
> \- Ignore Shay and call Delphine instead: [[ 17 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730025)


	15. Chapter 15

You ignore the strange messages from Shay, and call Felix instead. At first, he seems a bit hesitant to come over in the middle of the dinner, but after a little persuasion, he promises to come find you as soon as possible.

For a while, you pace the cold pavement trying to keep warm. It seems like hours, but it could not be more than a few minutes. When you finally see Felix arriving, he is riding on his bike.

“Hey,” he greets you when he sees you too, and pulls over next to you.

“A bike? I called for backup, and you arrive on a bike?” you say. You’re cold and worried, how are you supposed catch up with Delphine on a bicycle?

“Oi! I don’t do backup,” Felix says. “I don’t even know what backup is.” He hands you a spare helmet. “What do you want backup for anyway?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Felix: 
> 
> \- You need him to come with you to Delphine’s home: [[ 28 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730085)  
> \- You need him to come with you to the DYAD institute: [[ 29 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730088)


	16. Chapter 16

You call Shay back, still standing outside in the cold with no clue where exactly you are.

On the other side of the line, Shay sounds irritated that you haven’t called her back sooner. As if you did not break up with her earlier today. She tells you that Delphine came by her home again this afternoon. Shay rambles on about how scary your ex girlfriend is, and how weird she acted. 

This is no new information, Shay has told you so many times before. It is strange that Delphine did not only apologise to you, but to Shay as well. 

You tell Shay about your meeting with Delphine just now, and it seems to only anger Shay further. She asks you to come over; she wants to show you something Delphine has left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Shay: 
> 
> \- That you’re on your way: [[ 18 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730037)  
> \- That you are busy right now: [[ 30 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730097)


	17. Chapter 17

You ignore the strange messages from Shay, and call Delphine instead. After what seems like an eternity, you get her voicemail.

Of course you leave a message telling her you’re worried, and ask her to call you as soon as possible. Just to be safe, you also leave a couple of text messages. She is probably just driving, and can’t pick up the phone. Yet for some reason, you're still worried about her not answering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Call for some backup instead: [[ 31 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730103)  
> \- Keep calling Delphine, she might answer soon: [[ 21 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730049)


	18. Chapter 18

Thirty minutes later, you knock on Shay’s door.

Before she opens the door, she peeks through the window. It makes you frown, since when is Shay so very cautious? When Shay sees it is you, and you’re alone, she quickly opens the door. She locks it again behind you.

“Hey, everything okay?” you ask.

“Your crazy ex was here again,” Shay answers. She picks something up from the kitchen table, holding it out for you to take. “She told me to tell you to tell me everything.”

With a last look at Shay’s troubled expression, you take the card she’s holding out for you. It is Delphine’s business card, with the DYAD logo clearly printed onto it. You don’t understand it, why would Delphine give Shay her business card? What is that supposed to mean?

When you look up at Shay to ask, she motions for you to turn it over. With a deep frown, you comply. On the other side, in Delphine’s handwriting, you see your tag number. “What? What did she say?”

“Just for you to tell me. If you want,” Shay says. She takes a step closer, taking your hand in her own. “Cosima, what is going on here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Shay: 
> 
> \- The truth: [[ 32 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730121)  
> \- You leave: [[ 33 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730127)  
> \- You distract her: [[ 34 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730133)


	19. Chapter 19

You tell Shay, in the kindest way you can manage, that you’re kinda too busy right now to come over. Ignoring her protests, you hang up the phone and try to call Delphine instead. She doesn’t answer, but after what seems like an eternity, you finally get her voicemail.

Of course you leave a message telling her you’re worried, and ask her to call you as soon as possible. Just to be safe, you also leave a couple of text messages. She is probably just driving, and can’t pick up the phone. Still, for some reason, you're still worried about her not answering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Go inside to get some help: [[ 20 ]]()  
> \- Keep calling Delphine, she might answer soon: [[ 21 ]]()


	20. Chapter 20

After sending Delphine a final text, you go back inside the warm soap store. The bell above the door jingles cheerfully. The clone club is still working on their meal, while engaged in deep conversation.

When you stop just short of the table, making no move to sit down, Mrs. S. asks, “What’s wrong, love?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Mrs. S.: 
> 
> \- Delphine is acting weird: [[ 35 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730136)  
> \- No time to explain; just ask for her car: [[ 26 ]]()


	21. Chapter 21

You stroll back and forth on the same patch of frosty pavement, repeatedly calling Delphine. The white clouds of your breath form in front of your face, and your bare hands are rapidly growing very cold.

After the tenth call, you are about to give up and go back inside for some warmth. You decide to give it one last try. On the other side of the line, you can hear Delphine’s phone ringing several times, and just as you assume that you’ll hear that stupid automatically generated voicemail message again, Delphine picks up.

“Âllo, Cosima,” she says.

“Hey, sorry to bug you, but are you, like, okay?” You don’t know what else to say.

It is quiet on the other end for a second, then Delphine answers, “Yes, of course. Why would you ask that?”

“Uhm,” you hesitate. You hadn’t really thought of what to say once you would reach Delphine. “Because you were acting weird,” you say. “And you practically ran away after that kiss,” you mumble.

“I am sorry,” Delphine says, her voice strangely distorted, as if she’s crying. “I was just a little confused, I did not mean for that to happen.” She lets out a deep breath, “I’m fine, really, don’t worry about me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Believe Delphine: [[ 36 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730148)  
> \- Don’t believe Delphine: [[ 37 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730154)


	22. Chapter 22

“Maybe you’re right,” you say. “But there is no way I can catch up with her now.”

“So, just go to her home, or work, or something,” Scott answers.

You take a long drink from your wine. Just when everything seemed to be going better, when all the sisters are together and safe, Delphine chooses to act weird. “Okay, can you drive me?” You make up your mind; it is not as if you can enjoy your evening now that you’re so worried.

Scott nods and immediately gets up from his seat. You both say goodbye to the rest of the clone club. Once you’re standing outside, Scott asks you where you want to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Scott: 
> 
> \- You want to go to Delphine’s home: [[ 54 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730277)  
> \- You want to go to the DYAD institute: [[ 55 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730295)


	23. Chapter 23

You roll your eyes at Scott’s exaggeration, but the nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach is stronger. To your right, Felix is half listening to the conversation between Scott and you. Now, you turn to him and ask, “What do you think?”

Felix does not pretend to not know what you’re talking about. Without hesitation, he says, “You know I’m not a big fan of Delphine, but this is weird.” He shrugs, and takes another bite. “There’s no harm in giving her a call or something.”

That does it for you. You get up and put your coat back on. “Right, I’m going to go find her.”

Felix shrugs again, and Scott nods. The latter asks you if you want him to join you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Go alone: [[ 38 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730163)  
> \- Take Scott with you: [[ 39 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730169)


	24. Chapter 24

On the other hand, Delphine is tough, and you aren’t together any more. She is clever, and who would really want to hurt her anyway? You tell Scott that he’s exaggerating; he has just become a little paranoid by everything that has happened. And by the way, Delphine is a drama queen; she just wants to get back together with you.

You pass the rest of the evening making casual conversation with Felix on one side, and more serious plans about setting up a private lab with Scott. Now that both of you are fired, you will need another place to work with the data you’ve collected from Malone.

Long after Sarah and Mrs. S. have left to get Kira and Malone to hide out in Iceland, you go home with Felix to get some sleep. All night, you have a nagging feeling about Delphine, but you made up your mind when you told Scott that he is paranoid, and maybe you are too.

The next morning, you are woken up by a call. It is Scott, he went to the DYAD institute to pick up the last of his things and found Delphine in the parking garage. He had tried to resuscitate her, but she must have been dead for a while. She had grown cold already and had lost a lot of blood. Apparently, she had been shot in the stomach and slowly bled out alone in the underground parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, you failed to save Delphine! Try again: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	25. Chapter 25

All the faces in the room are turned towards you; they are waiting for you to explain your frantic entrance. Coughing, you hesitate for a moment. “Uhm, that was Delphine,” you say, motioning at the door behind you.

Felix rolls his eyes and gets back to his drink. The rest of the group is still looking at you. Mrs. S. is frowning, silently encouraging you to continue.

“She was acting kinda weird. I think something is wrong,” you explain.

“What do you mean, something is wrong?” Alison asks. Her hand is resting on Donnie’s arm, and she seems almost as worried as you are.

You clear your throat. “Like, she was very emotional, and then she ran away,” you say. You can’t tell all these people that you kissed your crying ex just now, and then she ran away. “I’m worried that she might be in danger.”

“Danger of what?” Art asks. Until now he has been sitting quietly to the side, but suddenly he seems a lot more interested.

Irritated, you almost stomp your feet. “I don’t know!” you yell. “Topside is unhappy with her, okay? Or somebody else might be after her.”

“All right,” Art says, he puts his hands up in defence. “Do you want to go after her?”

“Yes, please!”

“Okay,” Art answers. As he gets up from his seat, the others start to protest and ask questions. You don’t wait to argue with them as well, but go outside assuming Art will follow you.

He does, and points at his car parked a few couple of yards from the store. When you’re both seated, he asks you where to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Art: 
> 
> \- To go to Delphine’s home: [[ 40 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730172)  
> \- To go to the DYAD institute: [[ 41 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730181)


	26. Chapter 26

Anxiously, you clutch your beanie in your hands. The dreadlocks have spilled out off the bun, and are swaying in front of your face. Panting slightly, you hurriedly say, “Can I borrow your car, please? It’s an emergency.”

Without hesitating, Mrs. S. starts digging in her pocket for her car keys. “Yes, of course,” she says. “Are you all right, love?” she asks while she hands you the keys.

You quickly nod and turn about, running outside without another word. After a short search, you find her car. Not wanting to lose any more time, you climb in and start the engine. You check your phone; there is no response from Delphine, yet. You wonder where she is, and where you should start looking for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- To go to Delphine’s home: [[ 42 ]]()  
> \- To go to the DYAD institute: [[ 43 ]]()


	27. Chapter 27

You ignore the strange messages from Shay, and call Alison instead. Of course she complains about having to leave her own celebratory dinner, but after a little persuasion, she promises to come find you as soon as she can.

For a while, you pace the cold pavement trying to keep warm. It seems like hours, but it isn’t more than ten minutes until you finally see the red minivan turning around the corner.

“Hello, Cosima,” Alison greets you after she pulls over next to the sidewalk.

You’re happy to get out of the cold night, and quickly hop into the passenger side of the car. Inside it is warm and safe, and some of the bitter cold leaves your body. “Hey,” you finally reply to your sister. “Sorry for asking you to leave your party,” you say.

Alison nods curtly; she seems to be uncomfortable. She is looking out of the windows as if she expects somebody to attack them. “Where do you need to go?” she asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Alison: 
> 
> \- You need her to take you to Delphine’s home: [[ 44 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730199)  
> \- You need her to take you to the DYAD institute: [[ 45 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730217)


	28. Chapter 28

You hang on for dear life to Felix while he pedals surprisingly quickly through the empty streets. Following the directions you yell into his ear, you reach Delphine’s building before long.

You leave Felix to lock his bike, and run inside. Tackling the stairs two steps at a the time, you get to Delphine’s floor. Within seconds, you are pounding on her door. When Felix appears from the elevator, the door is still closed.

“Do you want me to kick it down?” Felix asks. “I’ve done it before, you know.”

You shake your head, cocking your eyebrow. That is definitely a story you need to hear later. From the depths of your coat pocket you produce a single key. Delphine had never asked for her key back, and you had conveniently forgotten to return it. Now it would come in handy. Not wasting another moment you unlock the door and enter.

The apartment is completely dark. Felix enters behind you, and finds a light switch. You look around; nobody is here. It almost looks as if no one lives here; everything is in the same place as it was the last time you visited. 

Together, you search the whole place. Neither of you find anything. “Now what?” Felix asks, as he flops down onto the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Felix: 
> 
> \- You wait here: [[ 46 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730223)  
> \- You go to DYAD: [[ 47 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730226)


	29. Chapter 29

You hang on to Felix for dear life, as he pedals surprisingly fast though the empty streets. Following the directions you yell into his ear, you reach the DYAD institute before long. Looking up at the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, an ominous feeling fills you.

You leave Felix to lock his bike, and run inside. Taking two stairs at a the time, you get to Delphine’s office. It is completely empty, as is the laboratory, and any other place Delphine logically can be. In a frenzy, you run back towards the exit off the building, bumping into Felix in the lobby.

“I can’t find her,” you say to him. You’re panting by now; your bad lungs aren’t enjoying this exercise.

Felix nods. He holds onto your arms and tries to calm you down a little. “Hey, Cos. Think logically. Are you sure she’s here?”

You shake your head.

“Right, so where else might she have driven to? Do you even know where she lives?” Felix asks, looking uncomfortably at the security guard observing you two from a distance.

Slowly, you realize. “Driving! Felix, you’re a genius!” You jog to the elevator, this time pressing the arrow pointing down.

“Of course I am.” Felix joins you in the elevator. “Enlighten me on how exactly I am a genius?” he asks, as the elevator starts moving.

“I wanna check if her car is here. If it isn’t, we go to her home.”

The doors of the elevator open, and you make a beeline for Delphine’s parking spot. You’re glad you have Felix with you, as a dark figure quickly walks away from the area you’re walking towards. There are plenty of shady people employed by DYAD, and you don’t fancy walking into any of them in a dimly lit parking lot at night by yourself.

Together you reach Delphine’s parking spot. Her car is parked where it should be, and Delphine is nowhere to be seen.

“Cosima,” Felix taps your arm before you can have a look into the driver’s window.

You turn about and she’s standing there. Her bag is standing on the floor next to her, and she is standing with her back to a random white car. Delphine is trembling visibly, her mouth slightly agape as she stares at the both of you.

“Delphine.” Relieved to see her in one piece, you quickly close the distance between you. “I was so worried about you!” You take her face in your hands, pulling her down in a kiss. 

“I’m okay,” she whispers, as if she can’t believe it herself. Her still trembling hands bury themselves in your hair when she returns the kiss, ignoring the annoyed sounds Felix is making behind your back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	30. Chapter 30

You tell Shay that you’re a little preoccupied at the moment; maybe you’ll come by in the morning.

Shay tells you not to bother; she doesn’t want to see you ever again. She hangs up before you can even apologize.

Irritated, you stare at your phone screen for a moment. Tomorrow, you will visit Shay and apologize properly for all these awful last couple of days you have put her through. First, you need to find Delphine and make sure she is all right.

Just as you’re contemplating your next move, the phone in your hand starts ringing again. You almost press the red button, assuming it is Shay again. At the last moment, you see Delphine’s name on the screen. Quickly, your thumb moves to the green button.

“Hey, Delphine?” you say, somehow it sounds more like a question than a greeting.

“Âllo, Cosima,” she says, the voice undoubtedly belongs to the French woman. “Why were you calling me?”

“Hey, are you, like, okay?” you have obsessively been calling Delphine, but now that she has called you back, you don’t know what to say.

It is quiet on the other end for a second, then Delphine answers, “Yes, of course. Why would you ask that?”

“Uhm,” you hesitate, “Because you were acting weird,” you say. “And you practically ran away after that kiss,” you mumble.

“I am sorry,” Delphine says, her voice strangely distorted, as if she’s crying. “I was just a little confused. I did not mean for that to happen.” She lets out a deep breath, “I’m fine, really, don’t worry about me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
>  
> 
> \- Believe Delphine, she’s probably just upset: [[ 36 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730148)  
> \- Don’t believe Delphine, there seems to be more to this: [[ 37 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730154)


	31. Chapter 31

You ignore the strange messages from Shay, and call Sarah instead. At first, she tells you not to exaggerate so much. It takes a little persuasion for her to believe you and promises to come find you.

For a while, you pace the cold pavement trying to keep warm. It seems like hours, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, when you finally see Sarah pulling around the corner in Beth’s car.

“Hey,” Sarah says when you open the door on the passenger’s side.

“Dude, what took you so long?” you say to your sister. You’re cold and worried, and Sarah being so nonchalant annoys you more than you care to admit.

Sarah looks angry. “Sorry, I couldn’t find you,” she says. “This place is a bloody maze.” She starts the car again. “Where do you want to go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Sarah: 
> 
> \- You need her to come with you to Delphine’s home: [[ 48 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730232)  
> \- You need her to come with you to the DYAD institute: [[ 49 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730238)


	32. Chapter 32

You sink down onto Shay’s couch. She hesitates for a moment, and then sits next to you. Without a word, she waits while you carefully consider what you’re going to tell her. Looking down at the small piece of cardboard, with Delphine’s name on it, you make up your mind.

“I,” you start, looking up at Shay.

She is sitting a little closer than you’re comfortable with, her face blank, waiting for you to finally explain what is going on. Maybe it would be better to not include her in this mess, but now that you’ve made up your mind, it is impossible to stop.

“I’m a clone, Shay,” you say.

She raises an eyebrow, “What?” She laughs; she clearly doesn’t believe you. And why should she? A few months ago, you wouldn’t have believed you.

So you explain. Rapidly, you give her a summary of the events of the past year. You tell Shay how Beth contacted you, and how you moved to Minnesota and met Alison, and then Sarah and Helena. How you slowly started to discover more about how you were created. How Delphine was assigned to monitor you, and how everything became a complicated mess. You tell her of the clone disease, of DYAD and Neolution, Castor and the Proletheans.

As you tell your story, Shay’s expression of disbelief turns into pure wonder. She doesn’t ask any questions, despite the fact that you tell the entire story in less than ten minutes and leave out pretty much all details. “Wow,” she says when you finally stop talking.

You nod, that about summarizes it. “I, uhm. I hope you understand why I didn’t tell you before.”

“I do,” Shay says. “So what happens now?”

You hold up the business card. “I think Delphine might be in trouble. She has been in way over her head for a while now,” you say.

Shay agrees with you. “If what you just told me is really true, she is definitely in trouble.” Shay gets up and puts on her coat.

A bit confused, you get up from the couch as well. “What are you doing?”

“Look, I don’t like that woman, but I don’t wish her death either. I will help you make sure she’s okay,” Shay says, and grabs the keys of her Beetle.

“Thank you,” you say. After all this, Shay really is a good person for helping you out, you think to yourself.

Together you leave to get her car. After you’ve found it, and are both seated, she asks you where you think Delphine might be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Shay: 
> 
> \- The directions to Delphine’s home: [[ 50 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730247)  
> \- The directions to the DYAD institute: [[ 51 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730253)


	33. Chapter 33

You look at Shay, she’s always asking questions. She is always nudging you to talk. Suddenly you are not so sure anymore that you can trust Shay. Even if she wasn’t the one that betrayed you to Castor, there seems to be something off about Shay.

You crumple the business card in your fist. “It’s not important,” you tell Shay.

“Oh, come on,” Shay says. She’s clearly irritated, her arms folded and her face angrier than you’ve ever seen. “Something is up. Delphine was practically in tears, telling me to be good to you. And you’re giving me this bullshit?”

You can feel your own face fall. Not only did Delphine come all the way to Bubbles to say what seemed to be goodbye, she also gave Shay her blessing. There is no doubt left in your mind, something is definitely wrong. “I gotta go.” You turn around and run out the door.

Behind you, Shay is yelling something you can’t quite hear. It is not important.

Once you’re outside, you don’t stop. Coincidentally, Shay doesn’t live far from the DYAD institute. At a far too slow pace, you start running towards the large building. Meanwhile, you check your phone. No one has returned your calls. The cold air burns your lungs, making your chest feel as if it is about to burst.

You quickly reach the dark building, entering it without slowing down. Taking the stairs two steps at a time, you get to Delphine’s office. It is completely empty, as is the laboratory, and any other place Delphine logically can be. Panicked, you run back towards the exit of the building, bumping into a security guard.

“You are no longer allowed in here,” he says, grabbing you roughly by the upper arm.

You nod. Panting you say, “Have you seen Dr. Cormier?”

He shrugs, “Not since she left an hour ago. You have to leave the premises, Miss. Niehaus.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you say. You pull yourself from his grip and make your way to the elevators. 

The plan was to pretend to go to the garage, and instead taking the elevator up to check the laboratories again. But the guard doesn’t leave you alone. He gets into the elevator with you and presses the button for the parking garage.

Playing it cool, you lean against the wall as you both go down. You haven’t got a clue what you’re going to do once you get down, you have no car, the guard will know you didn’t intend to leave the building yet.

“Bye,” you say, when the elevator opens, quickly walking into a random direction.

The security guard isn’t fooled so easily, so he follows you. When you turn around, he says, “Let me just accompany you, to make sure you get to your car safely.” He smiles. He isn’t here to keep you safe, but to make sure you’re really gone. 

You’re pretty sure he means well, it is his job after all. But this is very inconvenient, since you don’t have a car to get to safely. Instead, you walk towards Delphine’s parking spot.

From far away, you can see a figure standing there in the almost dark. Thinking it is Delphine, you yell for her.

The person turns around; you see that it is definitely not Delphine, though you don’t recognize him. Before you can, he runs off in the other direction. The guard that had accompanied you runs after him, leaving you alone in the parking lot.

“Cosima?” you hear Delphine’s voice.

For a second you are confused as to where exactly it comes from. Then you see her standing close to the spot the stranger was standing at half a minute ago.

“Delphine!” With a small jog you close the distance, almost not believing what you see.

She is shaking, and reaches out to you as soon as you get close. “What are you doing here?”

“I was so worried. You seemed so out of it. And that kiss. And Shay said-,” before you can tell her what Shay said she, Delphine interrupts you.

“Cosima, I’m okay,” she says firmly. She has taken hold of your face, and looks deep into your eyes. “You chased him away. I guess he did not want any witnesses.”

“What? Witnesses? What do you-.“

Again she interrupts you, and pulls you up for another kiss, and this time she doesn’t run away afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	34. Chapter 34

Instead of answering, you put the business card down and take your coat off. Confident, you get closer to Shay. There is no way you’re going to tell her the truth; she wouldn’t believe that you’re a clone. And even if she would, you’d really rather not endanger her with that knowledge.

“I’m not here to talk,” you say, and pull her closer. You desperately kiss her, pulling at her clothes as you push her towards the bed.

Shay lands on the bed, pulling you down on top of her. The motion causes the contact of your lips to break for less than a second, and she uses this time to ask you, “Are you sure? Because I’m totally here if you need to talk.”

You shake your head, and kiss her again. Better to distract her this way, than to have her know the truth.

Shay seems happy enough with this turn of events, and doesn’t push the issue any further. Instead, you spend the night in her bed, pushing any thoughts of Delphine far way. Long after Shay has fallen asleep in your arms, you wonder if you should try to call Delphine again. The fact that you’re in another woman’s bed makes you feel guilty enough to forget about your worries.

The next morning, you are woken up by the smell of breakfast. Shay is standing in her kitchen. When she notices that you’re awake, she says, “Somebody has been trying to call you. You are a really deep sleeper.” 

With a sheepish smile, you pick up your phone. It was Scott; you have nine missed calls from him, all in the past hour. Frowning, you call him back. 

As soon as he picks up he starts rambling some vague story about how he went to the DYAD institute to pick up the last of his things and found Delphine in the parking garage.

Shocked, you start getting dressed.

On the other end of the line, Scott tells you how he had tried to resuscitate her, but she must have been dead for a while. She had already grown cold and had lost a lot of blood. Apparently, she had been shot in the stomach and slowly bled out alone in the underground parking lot.

Crying, and without saying anything to Shay, you leave her alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, you failed to save Delphine! Try again: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	35. Chapter 35

Anxiously, you clutch your beanie in your hands. The dreadlocks have spilled out off the bun, and are swaying in front of your face. Gasping for air, you hurriedly say, “Something is up with Delphine, she’s acting weird.”

“Doesn't she always?” Felix comments.

Mrs. S. shoots him a silencing glance, before looking up at you. “What do you mean, love?” she asks.

Shifting your weight, you think about the question. “Like, she seemed sad. And she told me to give you guys all her love. Then she kissed me, and drove away,” you stumble over your words.

At the table, people exchange frowning looks. They agree with you that that is pretty strange behaviour. After a short discussion, Helena enthusiastically offers to help you find her. The rest of the clone club gets back to their dinners.

You put your hat back on and walk outside without another word. Helena follows you to Mrs. S.’ car, chewing on some part of her dinner, which she has conveniently had brought along. Not wanting to lose any more time, you climb in, and impatiently wait for Helena to join you. You check your phone; there is no response from Delphine, yet. Helena asks you where you’re going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Helena: 
> 
> \- To go to Delphine’s home: [[ 52 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730262)  
> \- To go to the DYAD institute: [[ 53 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730274)


	36. Chapter 36

“Okay,” you say. Delphine is probably just upset, hence the crying. You are quite confused by that kiss as well; you had not expected that when Delphine asked to meet you outside the soap store. “But, like, tell me if there’s anything I can do,” you say.

For a second it is silent on the other side of the line. Then Delphine says, “I will.” She is clearly crying now, you can hear the muffled sobs from far away. If only you were there with Delphine.

“Talk to me, okay,” you say. Perhaps this is the start of better communication between you two, and who knows what could result from that. “I want to help.”

“Yes. Thank you, Cosima,” Delphine says. She sounds a little more stable now. “I, uhm. I have to hang up.”

“Okay,” you say. “Bye, and be safe.”

“I’ll try,” Delphine says. “Goodbye, Cosima.” She hangs up and leaves you standing in the cold. Alone, you walk back to Bubbles. The rest of the evening you spend making casual conversation with Felix on one side, and more serious plans about setting up a private lab with Scott. Now both that of you are fired, you will need another place to work with the data you’ve collected from Malone.

Long after Sarah and Mrs. S. have left to get Kira and Malone to hide out in Iceland, you go home with Felix to get some sleep. Knowing that Delphine is all right, and that the two of you are talking like normal adults again, you sleep soundly.

The next morning, you are woken up by a call. It is Delphine; she asks you whether she can come to Felix’s loft. Of course you say yes, since when does Delphine ask if she’s welcome?

When she arrives, she is still wearing the same clothes she was wearing yesterday. She looks tired. You sit her down, and make her tell you everything.

Delphine tells you that she can’t work at DYAD anymore. Apparently they are out for her head. Yesterday, before you met outside Bubbles, she had learned that they wanted her eliminated. She had come to say goodbye to you, but your relentless phone calls made her late, and she literally dodged a bullet. She had never gone home, and after hiding all night, she decided to call you for help.

Shocked, you stare at her from across the couch. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Delphine shrugs, looking down at the floor.

You scoot closer to her, and wrap your arms around her. “Hey, you’re safe now,” you whisper.

She buries her face into your shoulder, sighing deeply.

Holding her closely, you rub soothing circles at her back. Silently, you vow to keep Delphine safe. She has been working so hard to help you and your sisters, keeping her alive is the least you can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	37. Chapter 37

Frowning, you listen to her. She doesn’t sound very fine, there has to be more to this. “But I am worried,” you say. 

“Really, there is no reason to be,” Delphine answers. 

Pacing the pavement up and down, you decide to change your tactic. “Delphine, can you come back?” you ask. “We need to talk. About the original.” She had seemed pretty concerned with keeping Malone safe, maybe she would come back for the original, even if she refused to come back for her own safety.

“What is the matter with Malone?” Delphine asks.

“Just, come back. Please,” you say. 

Delphine sniffs. Hesitantly she asks, “Can’t we talk over the phone?”

“No,” you say.

After a couple of seconds, Delphine tells you she’ll come back. She hangs up the phone, and you get back to pacing the pavement, this time with a sly grin. It actually worked, now hopefully you are wrong, and Delphine really is all right. A nagging feeling at the pit of your stomach tells you that you are right; something is off.

After about ten minutes, Delphine pulls over. She gets out and walks towards you. “Cosima, what’s wrong with Malone?” she demands to know.

You look closely at her face. She definitely has been crying. You take her hand, telling yourself that it is to make sure she won’t run away again. “Malone is fine, I just wanted to make sure you are too.”

Exasperated, Delphine sighs. “I told you: I was fine.”

“Delphine, please tell me what is the matter. You don’t look fine,” you say.

Hesitantly, the truth comes out. Delphine tells you that she can’t work at DYAD anymore. Apparently they are out for her head. A few hours ago, she learned that they wanted her eliminated. She had come to say goodbye to you. She had been on her way to switch cars, and hide out for a while.

Shocked, you stare up at her face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Delphine shrugs, looking down at the floor. “I wanted to keep you and your sisters safe,” she says. The tears are streaming down her face.

“Hey, you’re safe here,” you say. Squeezing her hand a little tighter, you tell her that Mrs. S will know how to keep her safe. She doesn’t have to hide all by herself, after all she did for the clone club, it is their turn to protect her.

She nods, sniffing softly.

After giving her an encouraging smile, you decide that it is probably better if you don’t stand outside in the open air like this. With a last look at your surroundings, you go back into Bubbles, pulling Delphine in with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	38. Chapter 38

“Nah, I can handle it,” you tell Scott. It is probably nothing that you can’t manage yourself. “Can I borrow your car though?” 

Scott gives you his car keys, and asks you again if you really don’t want him to come with you. Again, you tell him that you’ll be fine. Dismissing the rest of his protests, you walk outside. After a short search, you find his car. Not wanting to lose any more time, you climb in and start the engine. You check your phone; there is no response from Delphine, yet. You wonder where she is, and where you should start looking for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- Go to Delphine’s home: [[ 42 ]]()  
> \- Go to the DYAD institute: [[ 43 ]]()


	39. Chapter 39

You tell Scott that you would like his help. After all, if Delphine is really in trouble, having somebody by your side might be very helpful. “Can you drive?” you ask Scott.

He nods and immediately gets up from his seat. You both say goodbye to the rest of the clone club. Once outside, Scott asks you where you want to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Scott: 
> 
> \- You want to go to Delphine’s home: [[ 54 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730277)  
> \- You want to go to the DYAD institute: [[ 55 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730295)


	40. Chapter 40

You tell Art to take you to the Delphine’s home. It is late in the evening after all, so she is most likely at home. She does not have a lot of other places to go to after all. After you give him the address, he takes off straight away.

You sit in the passenger seat, while Art drives though the empty streets. He tries to makes some polite conversation, but you just are too preoccupied by what happened earlier. Noticing your lack of response, Art becomes silent. You check your phone obsessively every 30 seconds.

You leave Art in the car; he’s taking too long to get out of his seat. You run inside, and taking the stairs two steps at a time, you get to Delphine’s floor. Within seconds, you are pounding on her door. When Art appears from the elevator, the door is still closed.

“Stand back, let me kick it down,” Art says. “This is my job.”

You shake your head, disapproving of his need to prove himself. Maybe another day, but Delphine might just be in the shower and you don’t want to scar her for life. From the depths of your coat pocket you produce a single key. Delphine had never asked for her key back, and you had conveniently forgotten to return it to her. Now it comes in handy. Not wasting another moment you unlock the door and enter.

The apartment is completely dark. Art enters behind you, and finds a light switch. You look around; nobody is here. It looks as if nobody has been here lately; everything is in the same place as it was the last time you visited. 

Together, you search the whole place. Neither of you find anything. “Now what?” Art asks, as he flops down onto the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Art: 
> 
> \- You want to wait here: [[ 56 ]]()  
> \- You want to go to DYAD: [[ 57 ]]()


	41. Chapter 41

You tell Art to take you to the DYAD building. Delphine seems to have been there at all hours of the day for the past couple of weeks, working late every single day. Her workplace is the most likely place you’ll find her, and the best place to start searching. You give Art the address, and he takes off immediately.

You sit in the passenger seat, while Art drives through the empty streets. He tries to makes some polite conversation, but you just are too preoccupied by what happened earlier. Noticing your lack of response, Art becomes silent and you check your phone obsessively every 30 seconds.

Twisting the rings around your fingers, you see the DYAD institute before long. Looking up at the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, an ominous feeling fills you.

You tell Art to go around the back. Entering via the parking garage, you could avoid the security guards.

Art nods, and does as you tell him. Luckily, your employee card is still working and he drives into the building without any trouble.

“Over there,” you say, pointing in the direction where you remember the elevators are. It would save you both some time. 

Art follows into the direction you pointed him at, but suddenly hits the brakes.

“What-?” you start to say, but he gestures for you to be quiet.

Unbuckling, Art reaches into his coat and takes out his gun. “Stay in the car,” he says, and gets out himself.

Unsure what to do, or what Art is doing, you take off your own seatbelt and lean towards the driver’s side to see what he’s up to.

Art is crouching behind one of the cars several parking spots away. His gun is aimed at something you can’t quite make out. 

Careful not make a sound, you open the passenger side door and crawl closer to Art. You need to see what prompted him to take out his gun like that. When you reach the car next to the one he’s hiding behind, you can finally see what he sees.

A few feet away, Delphine is standing. She slowly turns around, not noticing the people hiding behind the cars. Following Delphine’s line of vision, you spot another person, one you hadn’t noticed before, but Art had definitely seen him. You gasp, far too loud. 

Art turns his head around. When he sees you he grimaces and shakes his head. He wanted you to stay in the car.

You shrug at Art, knowing very well that you can’t say sorry out loud.

He motions something at you, but you can’t understand what he wants you to do. 

“What will happen to her?” Delphine’s voice, loud and clear in the otherwise silent parking garage turns both your attentions back to the scene.

You can’t quite see what is happening, but Art does. Before you can react, he brings the gun he had lowered when he spotted you back up and pulls the trigger. A loud bang rings in your ears.

With a loud yell, you jump from your hiding place. Did Art just shoot Delphine? No longer worried about your own safety, you run towards the spot you last saw Delphine.

She is sitting on the floor, leaning against the trunk of a car. She stares at the man lying several feet away from her.

You ignore the other person, and kneel next to Delphine. “Delphine? Delphine! Are you okay?” You frantically search her for wounds. When you find none, you relax a little. Softer, you repeat, “Delphine, are you okay?”

Finally, Delphine reacts. She nods, and looks behind you.

With a quick look over your shoulder, you see Art standing beside the figure lying in a puddle of blood. The cop is holding two guns, but doesn’t aim them at anyone. The man on the floor is already dead.

“What, what are you doing here?” Delphine’s eyes are wide-set, and her hands are trembling. She is clearly in shock.

Softly, you push her hair out of her face. “I was worried about you,” you say.

Delphine lets out a strange sound, somewhere in between a sob and a chuckle.

“Yeah, with good reason apparently,” you say. 

She nods, smiling sheepishly.

Relieved that she’s still alive, you quickly close the distance between you and kiss Delphine. 

She wraps her still trembling hands around your waist, and kisses you back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	42. Chapter 42

Growing more anxious by the minute, you figure that your best chance is at Delphine’s home. It is quite late after all, so where else can she be? 

Driving quickly, and with not much regard for the speed limits, you find Delphine’s home quickly. You pull over in front of the building, not caring so much that you’re not allowed to park there and run inside. You take the stairs two steps at a time, and reach Delphine’s floor. Within seconds, you are pounding on her door. There is no answer.

Worried, you knock a little harder. Again, there is no answers. From the depths of your coat pocket you dig up a single key. Delphine had never asked for her key back, and you had conveniently forgotten to return it to her. Now it would come in handy. Not wasting another moment you unlock the door and enter.

The apartment is completely dark. It takes you a while to find a light switch. You look around; nobody is here. It looks as if nobody has been here lately; everything is in the same place as it was the last time you visited, weeks ago.

Quickly, you search the whole place. When you don’t find anyone, you wonder what you should do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You decide to: 
> 
> \- You wait here: [[ 58 ]]()  
> \- You go to DYAD: [[ 59 ]]()


	43. Chapter 43

Growing more concerned by the minute, you decide that your best chance is at work, where Delphine seems to be at all hours of the day. 

Driving quickly, and with not much regard of the speed limits, you get to the DYAD institute in less than 20 minutes. You decide to take the back entrance and check Delphine’s parking spot first. Luckily, your employee card still works, and you can enter without trouble. 

Not slowing down, you speed towards Delphine’s parking spot. Driving way too fast, you almost lose control of the car when turning the last corner. You check your phone again. When you have no new messages, you look up again from your screen.

Someone is standing right in front of your car. You hit the brakes, but it is too late. The car hits the person, causing a limp body to roll over the hood your car.

Bringing the car to a full stop, you get out. When you reach the front of the car, an unfamiliar man is lying in front of it. You kneel to check for a pulse, he is bleeding heavily. The blood rushes to your head, and you start to panic; you can’t find a pulse. Freaking out, you start to reach for your phone to call an ambulance.

“Cosima?”

You look up. A little away from you, you see Delphine walking towards you. Your panic turns to confusion, as you realize that there might be more to the situation.

“What are you doing here?” she asks you.

“I was worried,” you answer. Delphine seems fine, but this man is wounded. Why is she not helping him? She is the doctor after all.

Delphine kneels on the other side of the body. She professionally checks for a pulse, shaking her head. From underneath the body, she produces a gun. “You were right to be worried,” she says. Delphine gets up and walks away. Standing with her back to the car and the body, she takes a few deep breaths.

You follow her example, waiting for an explanation.

“He was going to shoot me,” Delphine says. Her hands are shaking; the gun falls to the ground.

You take her hands in your own. “Hey, you’re okay. You’re alive,” you say, giving her a reassuring smile. Suddenly, you feel oddly calm about running somebody over. 

Delphine nods, breathing shakily. 

You take her face in your hands, pulling her down in a kiss. 

She buries her still trembling hands your hair when she returns the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	44. Chapter 44

You ask Alison to take you to Delphine’s home. It is already late, so where else would she be at this time of the night? You realize that she doesn’t have anywhere, or anyone, else to go to besides work. Determined to fix this, you wait for Alison to buckle up so you can find Delphine.

You sit back in the passenger seat, while Alison drives through the empty streets. She drives so excruciatingly slow. Stopping at every intersection, not just those with stop signs, but every single one. She never even gets even close to the speed limit, until you pressure her to hit the gas. You’re in a hurry after all. 

When you finally arrive at Delphine’s home, you don’t wait for Alison to get out of the car. You run into the building and up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Within seconds, you are pounding on her door. Nobody has answered by the time Alison arrives at the door.

Worried, you knock a little harder. Again, there is no answer. 

“What do we do now?” Alison asks you.

From the depths of your coat pocket you produce a single key, holding it up for Alison to see. Delphine had never asked for her key back, and you had conveniently forgotten to return it to her. Now it would come in handy. Not wasting another moment, you unlock the door and enter.

The apartment is completely dark. Behind you, Alison enters the room as well and finds a light switch. You look around; nobody is here. It looks as if nobody has been here lately; everything is in the same place as it was the last time you visited, several weeks ago.

Quickly, you search the whole place with Alison. When neither of you don’t find anyone, Alison asks what you want to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Alison: 
> 
> \- You want to wait here: [[ 60 ]]()  
> \- You want to go to DYAD:[ [ 61 ]]()


	45. Chapter 45

You ask Alison to take you to the DYAD building. Delphine seems to have been there at all hours of the day for the past couple of weeks, working late every single day. Her workplace is the most likely place you’ll find her, and the best place to start searching. You give Alison the address, and she carefully enters it into the gps. 

You sit back in the passenger seat, while Alison drives through the empty streets. She drives so excruciatingly slow. Stopping at every intersection, not just those with stop signs, but every single one. She never even gets close to the speed limit, until you pressure her to hit the gas. You’re in a hurry after all. 

Twisting the rings on your fingers, you hold back any more remarks. Alison chats about her day, about the elections. You politely keep the conversation going, but your mind is elsewhere. Subtly you check your phone every 30 seconds. There is never a new message.

When you finally see the DYAD institute, an ominous feeling fills you. You had thought you’d never see that building again, or at least not so soon.

You tell Alison to go around the back. Entering via the parking garage, you could avoid the security guards.

Alison nods, and does as you tell her. All cheerful conversation is gone. Even for Alison, she is very tense. You suddenly recall that Alison has been here before, and she had not had the best time impersonating an imprisoned Sarah. Maybe you should let Alison wait in the garage while you check Delphine’s office.

“Over there,” you say, pointing in the direction where you remember the elevators are. It would save you some precious time. 

Alison follows into the direction you pointed her at. Suddenly, she slows down, stopping in the middle of the garage.

“Why-?” you start to say, but then you see what Alison is looking at.

In front of the car, less than ten feet away, you see an unfamiliar man standing. He’s pointing a gun right at the car.

Alison sits frozen next to you, completely useless.

Leisurely, the man turns ninety degrees to the right, pointing his gun at a figure standing in the shadows.

You gasp. “Delphine!”

Delphine is standing next to her bag. She looks at the man with his gun trained on her, and the car with the clones. She looks petrified, unable to run or fight.

“The glove compartment,” Alison whispers.

“Huh?”

“The glove compartment!” 

You quickly glance sideways at your sister. You don’t understand what Alison wants; you’re far too shocked by seeing Delphine in such a precarious situation to think clearly.

As the man looks away from the car, and at the person he’s holding under shot, Alison quickly leans in front of you, and opens the glove compartment. Fumbling around for a second, she pulls out a gun.

“Alison?” you say, this is not what you had expected.

Without a word, Alison unbuckles and opens the car door. Shielding her body behind the open door, she yells at the man to drop the gun.

With an open mouth you stare at your clone, in a pink dress aiming a gun at a strange man. You quickly exchange glances with Delphine, whose eyes are even bigger than your own probably are.

The man is clearly confused by the situation; he had expected an easy hit and run. Not this interference. He looks between the three women, and decides that it’s not worth the risk. He drops the gun and runs away.

As soon as the man drops the gun, you leap out of the car and run over to Delphine. 

Without a word, Delphine takes hold of you and pulls you into a tight hug. “Why did you do that? You could have been killed,” she mumbles, pressing kisses all over your face.

“We could have been killed?” you say, pulling back a little. “You could have been killed!”

Delphine smiles sadly, nodding ever so slightly. She pulls you up for a real kiss, quickly interrupted by a series of ‘holy doodle’.

You both turn around and see Alison is walking in circles mumbling to herself next to her car. You exchange a look with Delphine, wondering again how she got in this position.

Delphine walks over to Alison, and you follow her. Delphine gently takes the gun from Alison’s hands. “Thank you, Alison,” she says.

It instantly calms the clone down; she nods and lets out a deep breath.

“Yeah, thank you,” you say. “I can’t believe you keep a loaded gun in your glove compartment, though.” Alison is much more badass than you thought.

“Are you crazy?” Alison says. “I don’t keep loaded guns where my kids can find them. That’s very dangerous!” She holds out the gun, showing you both that it’s empty. “Get in the van, I want to be back in time for dessert.”

Grinning at Delphine, you open the door of the van for her. Without protesting, Delphine hops in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	46. Chapter 46

Tired, you sit down next to Felix. “She’ll be home soon,” you say. “It’s late, there’s no point in running all over town looking for her.”

Felix nods. He gets up to check the kitchen for a drink. He brings you a tumbler of scotch when he finds a half-full bottle in one of the cupboards. You never much enjoyed the foreign taste of the strong liquor, but with a few rapid gulps you empty the glass anyway. 

Lounging on the couch next to you, Felix judges Delphine’s décor. You half-heart an attempt to defend her, saying that moving across the world means that you can’t bring a lot of personal things, but your mind is elsewhere, and you let him entertain himself while you check your text messages again.

You jump up from your seat when, after about 30 minutes, you hear a key in the lock. It is a complete stranger. He’s as surprised to see you here as you are to see him. When you ask him what he’s doing here, he tells you that he has to clean the place for the next tenant.

“What new tenant?” you ask, “Dr. Cormier lives here.”

He shakes his head, “Not anymore. She’s being taken care of right now.”

“What?” Felix joins the conversation now. “Taken care of how?”

The man shrugs. “She’ll be disposed of. Apparently she had a runaway vehicle parked at the institute, and was planning to run away.” He looks completely unimpressed with what he’s telling you. “Nobody runs away from Neolution.” The man holds the door open for you both, and says, “And now, if you’d please leave me to do my job.” He gestures outside.

With a last look at Felix, you run outside. Maybe you can make it to the institute in time to save Delphine. Felix follows you, and once outside he quickly unlocks his bike. You don’t even have to tell him where to go. The two of you get on the bike and race to the DYAD institute. 

You leave Felix to lock his bike, and run inside to find Delphine. The cleaning guy told you that she had a getaway vehicle; she is most likely in the parking lot, if she hasn’t escaped by herself. Ignoring the guard trying to stop you, you run for the elevator. While you’re waiting, Felix catches up with you.

Together you get in the elevator, and impatiently you push the button that says parking lot. It seems to take forever to get you one floor down, but when the doors finally open, you make a beeline for Delphine’s parking spot. Felix follows right behind you, somehow struggling to keep up with you.

Together you reach Delphine’s parking spot. Her car is parked where it should be, and Delphine is nowhere to be seen. Panicked, you walk towards the car to peek in the driver’s window. As you’re checking it, you hear an odd groaning sound behind you. Spinning around, you see her lying on the floor, barely ten feet away.

“Holy shite,” Felix exclaims.

You say nothing, but run towards Delphine. You kneel next to her.

She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you or Felix. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a rapidly growing patch of red on her shirt.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Behind you, you can hear Felix call an ambulance. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot.

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. Wasting no time, you get in with her, telling Felix to explain to the others what happened. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Felix finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. He brought Alison with him; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once. Alison cleans you up a little, and sits you down. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course, she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains. He tells you that it was very close, a few more minutes and she would not have made it.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

Alison helps you out, and asks, “Can we see her?”

The doctor nods, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Alison asks the surgeon a thousand questions. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Allrighty then, we’ll just leave you two alone,” Alison says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	47. Chapter 47

Again, the two of you get on the bike and race to the DYAD institute. Delphine has to be here, she doesn’t have any other places to go in Toronto. The realization fills you with sadness. You will have to fix that when you find her.

You leave Felix to lock his bike, and run inside to find Delphine. Taking two stairs at the time, you get to Delphine’s office. It is completely empty, as is the laboratory, and any other place Delphine logically can be. Hurriedly, you run back towards the exit of the building, bumping into Felix in the lobby.

“I can’t find her,” you say to him. You’re panting by now; your damaged lungs aren’t enjoying this exercise.

Felix nods. He holds onto your arms and tries to calm you down a little. “Hey, Cos, think logically. Are you sure she’s here?”

You nod. “She has to be. She has no other place to go, besides home. And we know she isn’t there.”

“Right, are you absolutely sure? Maybe she drove somewhere else,” Felix asks, looking uncomfortably at the security guard observing you two from a distance.

Slowly, you realize. “Driving! Felix, you’re a genius!” You jog to the elevator, this time pressing the arrow pointing down.

“Of course I am.” Felix joins you in the elevator. “Enlighten me on how exactly I am a genius?” he asks, as the elevator starts moving.

“I wanna check if her car is here. If it isn’t, at least we know that she is not in the building.”

The doors of the elevator open, and you make a beeline for Delphine’s parking spot. Felix follows right behind you, not as much in a hurry as you are. He mumbles something about sinister parking lots. In the distance, you see somebody walking away from you. You’re grateful for Felix’s company, in the dimly lit area in a building where people have never been too kind to you.

Together you reach Delphine’s parking spot. Her car is parked where it should be, and Delphine is nowhere to be seen.

While you walk towards the car to peek in the driver’s window, you hear an odd groaning sound behind you. Spinning around, you see her stumped against a car, barely ten feet away.

“Holy shite,” Felix exclaims.

You say nothing, but run towards Delphine. You kneel next to her.

She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you or Felix. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak, there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Behind you, you can hear Felix call an ambulance. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot.

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. Wasting no time, you get in with her, telling Felix to explain to the others what happened. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Felix finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. He brought Alison with him; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once. Alison cleans you up a little, and sits you down. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course, she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

Alison helps you out, and asks, “Can we see her?”

The doctor nods, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Alison asks the surgeon a thousand questions. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Allrighty then, we’ll just leave you two alone,” Alison says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you rub Delphine’s arm, cautious not to hurt her. “I’m also very glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she taps the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	48. Chapter 48

You ask Sarah to take you to Delphine’s home. It is already late, so where else would she be at this time of the day? You realize that she doesn’t have anywhere, or anyone, else to go to besides work. Determined to fix this, you wait for Sarah to buckle up so you can find Delphine.

You tell Sarah the address, and she frowns at you. Even though she has lived in the area for most of her life, she still isn’t very familiar with these parts, and has no idea how to get out of the suburbs, and to Delphine’s home. You have to turn on the gps on your phone, because you’re not much more familiar wit this area than she is.

Following the instructions from your phone, you finally arrive at Delphine’s home quite quickly. When Sarah stops in front of the building, you don’t wait for her to get out of the car. You run into the building and up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Within seconds, you are pounding on her door. Nobody has answered by the time Sarah arrives at the door.

Worried, you knock a little harder. Again, there is no answer. 

“Right, so now what?” Sarah asks. She is standing next to you, her arms folded and looking irritated that she had to drive all this way without any direct results.

From the depths of your coat pocket you produce a single key, holding it up for Sarah to see. Delphine had never asked for her key back, and you had conveniently forgotten to return it to her. Now it would come in handy. Not wasting another moment you unlock the door and enter.

The apartment is completely dark. Behind you, Sarah enters the room as well and finds a light switch. You look around; nobody is here. It looks as if nobody has been here lately; everything is in the same place as it was the last time you visited, several weeks ago.

Quickly, you search the whole place with your sister. When neither of you don’t find anyone, Sarah asks what you want to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Sarah: 
> 
> \- You want to wait here: [[ 62 ]]()  
> \- You want to go to DYAD: [[ 63 ]]()


	49. Chapter 49

You sit in the passenger seat, while Sarah drives through the empty streets. At first, she takes a few wrong turns. You have to turn on the gps on your phone, because you’re not much more familiar with this area than she is. 

While driving, Sarah tells you about S’ plans for hiding out in Iceland; you find it a bit extreme, but you don’t tell her. Frankly, you’re also worried about Kira, that poor little girl has already been through enough. So you sit silently, watching the dark streets pass by, and listen to Sarah talking.

Twirling the rings around your fingers, you start recognizing streets before long. This is the neighbourhood where the DYAD institute is located. Looking up at the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, you get a squeamish feeling in your stomach.

You tell Sarah to go around the back. Entering via the parking garage, you could avoid the security guards.

Sarah nods, and does as you tell her. Luckily, your employee card is still working and she drives into the building without any trouble.

“Over there,” you say, pointing in the direction where you remember the elevators are supposed to be. It would save you both some time. 

Sarah follows the direction you pointed her at, slowing down way too early. She looks around as if she’s searching for a parking spot.

“What are you doing?” you ask. “Keep driving.”

“Look,” Sarah says, gesturing out the front window. “We’re not alone.”

“Is that Delphine?” you ask, though you already know the answer.

Sarah shoots you an irritated glance. “She’s not alone, is she?” Sarah asks.

It takes you a second to figure out what your sister is referring to. Indeed, there is somebody standing in the shadows. You don’t recognize the figure, but the way the arm is stretched, and the way Delphine is standing, they scare you nevertheless. “Dude, is that a gun?”

“Are you wearing your seatbelt?” Sarah asks.

“What?”

Without another warning, Sarah hits the gas.

The sudden force pushes you into your seat. Beth’s car accelerates surprisingly fast. Glancing sideways, you see the lunacy on Sarah’s face. She’s enjoying this far too much.

In the distance, not so far away anymore, Delphine and the figure have turned around, alerted by the sound of the car speeding towards them. Delphine takes a step back, so that the car will pass in front of her. The dark figure takes a little longer to move, making you think that they will cause a full frontal collision. At the last moment, the person decides to run.

As Sarah breaks, you can just make out the a running figure disappearing between the cars. Apparently, three people are too much for them to handle at once. Relieved, you get out of the car as soon as it is completely stopped.

With a short sprint, you reach Delphine. Sarah is trailing much slower behind you, clearly checking whether it is safe. You are less concerned with your own safety, and only want to make sure Delphine is all right.

“Cosima?” Delphine asks. Surprised, she looks at you and Sarah. “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you,” you answer. Now that you’re standing in front of her, you can finally see how scared she looks. You take her hands, which are trembling in your own. “Are you okay?”

Delphine nods. She looks over your shoulder, in the direction the stranger disappeared in. “Quoi, I’m fine,” she says, her voice shaking just as much as her hands.

You smile sheepishly up at her.

She smiles back, and leans down. Without hesitation, you repeat the kiss you shared earlier this evening. This time less hurried, and with less tears involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	50. Chapter 50

You tell Shay that, since it is already pretty late, Delphine is probably at home. You realize that she doesn’t have anywhere, or anyone, else to go to besides work. Determined to fix this, you wait for Shay to get her Beetle started, so you can go and find Delphine.

You give Shay the address. She seems to know where to go to and drives off immediately. Silently, you sit back as Shay drives through the dark streets. It doesn’t take her long to find Delphine’s home, and when she pulls over, you tell her you’re going up, expecting Shay to wait for you in the car.

You run inside and up the stairs, taking it two steps at a time. Within seconds, you are pounding on her door. Nobody has answered by the time Shay arrives; you’re not sure why she followed you, and frankly, you don’t really care why. Worried, you knock a little harder. Again, there is no answer. 

“Isn’t she home?” Shay asks. She is standing next to you, casually leaning against the wall.

From your coat pocket you produce a solitary key, and you show it to Shay. Delphine had never asked for her key back, and you had conveniently forgotten to return it to her. Now it would come in handy, though it makes the situation even more awkward to have Shay know that you still carry a key of your ex’s apartment. Not wasting a moment to apologize, you unlock the door and enter.

The apartment is totally dark. Behind you, Shay enters the room as well and finds a light switch. You look around; nobody is here. It looks as if nobody has been here lately; everything is in the same place as it was the last time you visited, several weeks ago.

Quickly, you search the whole place with Shay’s help. When neither of you don’t find anyone, Shay asks what you want to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Shay: 
> 
> \- You want to wait here: [[ 64 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730337)  
> \- You want to go to DYAD: [[ 65 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730340)


	51. Chapter 51

You tell Shay that Delphine is probably still at work. She seems to be there at all hours of the day, working late whenever possible. 

Shay thinks about this for a second, before starting the car. Without voicing her opinion, she follows your directions to the DYAD institute. Aside from telling Shay to turn a corner every once in a while, you don’t say anything at all. This situation is already uncomfortable enough, without awkward conversation.

Silently, you reach your destination. Looking up at the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, you get a squeamish feeling in your stomach. Part of you wants to turn back, but you know that you won’t forgive yourself if something does happen.

You ask Shay to go around the back. Entering via the parking garage, you could avoid the security guards.

Shay nods, and does as you tell her. Luckily, your employee card is still working and she drives into the building without any trouble.

“Over there,” you say, pointing in the direction where you remember the elevators are. It would save you both some time. 

Shay follows the direction you pointed her at, slowing down way too early. She looks around as if she’s searching for a parking spot.

“What are you doing?” you ask. “Keep driving.”

“Over there,” Shay says, gesturing out the front window. “Somebody is standing in the middle of the road.”

“Is that Delphine?” you ask, though you already know the answer.

Shay squints, in the dim light, it is hard to see. 

You would recognize that figure anywhere. “She’s not alone, is she?” you ask Shay.

“What?” Shay mumbles. She leans over the steering wheel to get a better view. Then she spots the figure you’re referring to. Somebody neither of you recognize is standing in the shadows, oblivious to the two spectators in the car. 

“He’s holding a gun,” Shay states the obvious. 

Even without military training, you had already noticed that. The person standing clearly holds Delphine under threat of shot. “Dude, what do we do?” you ask Shay. Your first instinct is to run towards Delphine, but some sane part at the back of your brain tells you that that might just get all of you killed. Shay is better trained to handle situations like this; suddenly you’re glad she’s here with you.

“I, I don’t know,” Shay says. “I don’t carry weapons anymore. We could call the police.”

You shake your head. They would be too late, and Shay knows this too. The few seconds the both of you are thinking of what to do next, the stranger takes a few steps towards Delphine. 

With a sudden yell, you jump out of the Beetle. Both figures in the distance turn around surprised. The rush of adrenaline overpowers any reluctance you had earlier. Screaming, you run the few hundred feet towards Delphine. Shocked by your viciousness, and perhaps just because they do not want any witnesses, or even because they were ordered to not kill you, the stranger runs away.

Panting, you stop next to Delphine. In the distance, the stranger exits through the fire escape, leaving you alone with Delphine, and Shay, who less hurriedly walks over to you from her car.

“Cosima,” Delphine says, “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you. You were acting so strange” you answer. Now that you’re standing in front of her, you can finally see how scared she looks. You take her hands, which are trembling in your own. “Are you okay?”

Delphine nods. She looks over your shoulder, in the direction the stranger disappeared in. “Quoi, I’m fine,” she says, her voice trembling just as much as her hands.

You smile sheepishly up at her.

She smiles back, and leans down. Without hesitation, you repeat the kiss you shared earlier this evening. This time less hurried, and with less tears involved. Behind you, Shay returns to her car, giving you both a bit of privacy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	52. Chapter 52

You tell Helena that, since it is already pretty late, Delphine is probably at home. You realize that she doesn’t have anywhere, or anyone, else to go to besides work. Determined to fix this, you start driving in the direction of Delphine’s home.

You drive quickly, and with not much regard for the speed limits. In the seat next to you, Helena is finishing her dinner, and talks eagerly while she eats. Stealing glances at her, you try to figure out where she’s keeping all that food. Before you can ask her, you’ve already reached Delphine’s home. Parking right in front of it, where it’s technically not allowed, you tell Helena to wait in the car. 

You run inside and up the stairs, taking it two steps at a time. Within seconds, you are pounding on her door. Nobody has answered by the time Helena arrives. 

You ask her why she followed you, and Helena answers with a shrug. It doesn't really matter, so you knock a little harder while Helena watches you getting more frustrated. Again, nobody answers the door. 

“Is Delphine not home?” Helena asks. She is standing next to you, looking as if she’s going to run right through the door. “I can pick lock,” she offers instead.

You tell her not to do that. From the depths of your coat pocket you produce a single key, and you show it to your sister. Delphine had never asked for her key back, and you had conveniently forgotten to return it to her. Now it comes in handy. Not wasting a moment to apologize, you unlock the door and enter.

The apartment is completely dark. Helena quickly enters and starts yelling Delphine’s name and looking around. You enter a little slower. Before joining Helena in searching, you flip a light switch by the door. You look around; nobody is here, besides Helena. And it looks as if nobody has been here lately; everything is in the same place as it was the last time you visited, several weeks ago.

Quickly, you search the whole place with Helena’s help. When neither of you don’t find anyone, Helena asks what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Helena: 
> 
> \- You wait here: [[ 66 ]]()  
> \- You go to DYAD: [[ 67 ]]()


	53. Chapter 53

You tell Helena that you’re going to check DYAD first; Delphine might still be at work. Helena agrees eagerly and sits back in the passenger seat.

You drive fast, and just a little above the speed limit. In the seat next to you, Helena is finishing her dinner, and talks eagerly while she eats. Stealing glances at her, you try to figure out where she’s keeping all that food. Before you’ve figured it out, you’ve already reached the DYAD institute. You decide to take the back entrance, and first check Delphine’s assigned parking spot. Luckily your employee card still works, and you can get inside without trouble. 

You are halfway across the parking lot, when Helena suddenly tells you to stop. Confused, you hit the brakes.

“Look,” Helena points in the direction you where going.

“What is it?” you ask, and at the same time you see what she’s pointing at. Two people are standing in the distance; one is unmistakably Delphine, who the other person is, you cannot see.

“He’s going to kill her,” Helena states bluntly.

Shocked, you turn to look at her, to quickly look back at the two figures in the distance again. “No,” you say, more out of unwillingness to believe it, than actual disbelief. You can see the stranger is holding a gun, even from this distance. 

You turn back to Helena, wanting to ask her what to do; after all, she is more experienced with guns, when you realize she’s gone. With an open mouth, you check the backseat; she isn’t there. You turn back just in time to see her disappear between parked cars. How did she even get out of the car without you noticing?

Unsure what to do, you watch Helena appear and disappear again between the parked cars, each time a little closer to the people in the distance. When the dark figure lifts an arm, and aims the gun at Delphine, Helena is still too far away. In a panicked impulse, you hit the horn.

The two people in the distance turn around, trying to figure out where the sound comes from. They probably can’t even see the car, let alone you, from their location. The stranger turns back to Delphine, but never actually faces her. From the shadows, Helena makes good use of the distraction and sneaks up behind him and twists his neck with horrifying ease.

You hear Delphine scream, and your own echo sounds softer in the car. You jump out and run towards the two women. Helena is just asking Delphine if she’s all right when you arrive.

Delphine nods, she stares at the man lying on the floor at Helena’s feet.

Following her stare, you try to make out his face. You don’t recognize him. Dismissing it, he’s gone after all, you turn to Delphine. She’s trembling, and can’t seem to tear her gaze from the stranger’s face.

With a few short steps, you stand in front of her, effectively blocking her line of sight. “Delphine, are you hurt?”

“Non,” she looks up at you. “No, I’m fine.” Her eyes are wide, and her hands are shaking while you grasp them in your own. “What are you doing here?” she asks. Slowly, she seems to start comprehend what just happened.

“I was worried about you,” you say, squeezing her hands. “You were acting a bit strange."

Delphine lets out a strange sound, somewhere in between a sob and a chuckle.

“And with good reason apparently,” you say, smiling up at her.

She nods, smiling sheepishly. Glancing at Helena behind you, who is bent over the limp body on the ground, inspecting it, and takes the gun away.

Relieved that she’s still alive, you quickly close the distance between you and kiss Delphine. 

She buries her shaky hands in your dreadlocks, and kisses you back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	54. Chapter 54

You ask Scott to take you to the Delphine’s home. He nods when you tell him that it is late, so she is probably at home already, or on her way there. You realize that she doesn’t have anywhere, or anyone, else to go to besides work. Determined to fix this, you twirl the rings around your fingers, as Scott starts the car.

Scott drives to Delphine’s home with the help of directions you give him. Aside from giving him these directions, you sit in the passenger seat, only mumbling brief responses to his attempts at making conversation. This way you quickly reach Delphine’s home. Scott takes forever to find a parking spot, so you ask him to just drop you off in front of the building, leaving him behind in the car. 

You run inside and up the stairs, taking it two steps at a time. Within seconds, you are pounding on her door. Nobody has answered by the time Scott arrives. You knock a little harder, and again, there is no response.

“Are you sure this is her place?” Scott asks. 

“Yeah,” you say. Of course you’re sure.

Scott frowns. “She isn’t home?”

You shake your head; it looks as if she isn’t. In your coat pocket you find a key, and you show it to Scott. Delphine had never asked for her key back, and you had conveniently forgotten to return it to her. Now it comes in handy. Not wasting a moment to apologize, you unlock the door and enter.

You enter the dark apartment, softly calling Delphine’s name. Behind you, Scott hesitantly enters as well. He finds a light switch and turns it on. You look around; nobody is here, besides Scott and yourself. And it looks as if nobody has been here lately; everything is in the same place as it was the last time you visited, several weeks ago.

Quickly, you search the whole place with Scott’s help. When neither of you don’t find anyone, Scott asks what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You tell Scott: 
> 
> \- You want to wait here: [[ 68 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730355)  
> \- You want to go to DYAD: [[ 69 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14730361)


	55. Chapter 55

You ask Scott to take you to the DYAD institute. He agrees with you that that is the most likely place Delphine would be; she always seems to work late.

Scott drives to your old workplace without hesitating once. Quietly, you sit in the passenger seat, only mumbling brief responses to his attempts at making conversation. Before long, you see the DYAD institute. Looking up at the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, an ominous feeling fills you.

You ask Scott to take the back entrance, that way you can check Delphine’s parking spot to make sure she’s really here. His employee card is still working, and you enter the parking lot without any trouble.

Scott drives in the direction you point him at, where you vaguely remember Delphine’s parking spot to be located. As you’re getting closer, to your relief you see Delphine standing close to her parking spot. You actually managed to catch up with her, and she seems fine. You smile and relax a little.

Scott stops a few feet from Delphine, not bothering to park in an actual parking spot.

Frozen in her place, Delphine looks at the car. She frowns when she recognizes you, as you fumble to get your belt loose so you can get out. When you do, and walk around the front of the car towards her, somebody else suddenly moves in the shadows to your right. 

You try to make out whom it is, but the stranger runs away in between the dimly lit parking lot, exiting though the fire escape. Looking at Delphine, you start to ask what is going on; when you notice that she’s visibly shaking.

“Delphine, are you okay?” you ask.

She nods, staring at you.

You walk over to her, and wrap her in your arms. She’s trembling all over. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” she sighs, leaning into your embrace.

“Wow,” Scott says behind you. “Who was that?” He’s just getting out of the car, and in looking between the direction the stranger took off in and where Delphine is standing.

Delphine lifts her head, and says, “Nobody, he’s gone now.”

Frowning, you look up at her. She seems so shaken by whatever has happened before you arrived, and now she’s just dismissing it. You start to protest, demanding a more elaborate answer, when she smiles at you. Gently, she takes your face in her hands and pulls you up for a kiss. Behind you, you hear Scott huff, and walk away, before you have completely lost your senses, and are aware of nothing but Delphine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	56. Chapter 56

Tired, you sit down on the couch; the run up the stairs was a little too much for your damaged lungs. “She’ll be home soon,” you say. “It’s late, there’s no point in running all over town looking for her.”

Art agrees with you. He takes another look around the apartment, but it was already obvious that nobody is here. Finally, he sits down next to you, silently waiting. With a nagging feeling in your stomach, you check your phone every other minute, hoping for a message from Delphine.

After about 30 minutes, you hear a key in the lock. It is a complete stranger. He’s as surprised to see you here as you are to see him. When you ask him what he’s doing here, he tells you that he has to clean the place for the next tenant.

“What new tenant?” you ask, “Dr. Cormier lives here.”

He shakes his head, “Not anymore. She’s being taken care of right now.”

“Taken care of?” Art joins the conversation now, standing right beside you and with his hand on his gun. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

The man shrugs. “She’ll be disposed of. Apparently she had a getaway vehicle parked at the institute, and was planning to run away.” He looks completely unimpressed with Art’s silent threat. “Nobody runs away from Neolution.” The man holds the door open for you both, and says, “And now, if you’d please leave me to do my job.” He gestures outside.

Art starts to protest, but you run outside without another word. Maybe you can make it to the institute in time to save Delphine. Seeing you run, Art follows quickly. Once outside he opens his car for you and turns on the sirens. You don’t need to tell him that you want to go the institute.

With the help of the sirens, you reach the DYAD institute in next to no time. You point Art towards the employee entrance, so that you avoid the security guards at the main entrance. Once in the parking garage, you tell him to check on Delphine’s parking spot, to see if she’s here.

He does as you tell him, and stops right next to her car.

You get out of his car, so you can check if Delphine is in her own car. When you are walking towards it, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her lying on the concrete. 

“Art!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Art gets out of his car, and walks towards you. “A bullet wound?” Art says surprised, long before he actually reaches you.

Delphine is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly seeping from her chest onto the floor.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Behind you, you can hear Art checking the surroundings. He points out the bullet hole in the car behind her. Vaguely you register that it is a good thing, even though Delphine is losing blood at an alarming rate, and has been for who knows how long. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

Art kneels next to you. He inspects Delphine’s wound, and looks at you. “We have to get her to a hospital,” he says.

You nod, Delphine definitely needs medical attention. And although you’re right underneath a building filled with doctors and operating rooms, you still need to move her to another location.

“Let me,” Art says. He gestures for you to move to the side a little. Picking Delphine up, he carefully moves her to the back of his car, while you manage to keep some pressure on the wound.

If the transfer hurts Delphine, she doesn’t show it. Holding her in place you sit down with her, all the while trying to stop the steady flow of blood.

Art turns his police siren back on, and races to the hospital. With traffic moving out of your way, the ride doesn’t last long. Delphine is slowly losing consciousness, and you when she is being transferred onto a gurney at the hospital; you fear that it might be too late.

Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. Art guides you to a toilet and helps you clean the blood off your hands, while you stare in shock at the red washing down the drain.

After he sits you down in the waiting room, he leaves to call Sarah. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains. He tells you that it was a close call, she might not have survived if you had not found her when you did.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

Art, who returned a while ago, asks the doctor if you could go see her.

The doctor nods, and the three of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Art asks the surgeon for details of her injury. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Okay, I’ll go call the rest to tell them you’re fine,” Art says. He nods at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” he says, and leaves you alone.

Once he is gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	57. Chapter 57

Quickly you follow Art back to his car. This time, Art turns his police siren on, you thought that this was his private car, but you don’t complain about the extra speed the noise brings you. Driving uncomfortably fast, Art takes you to the DYAD institute.

You point Art towards the employee entrance, so that you avoid the security guards at the main entrance. Once in the parking garage, you tell him to check on Delphine’s parking spot, to see if she’s there.

He does as you tell him, and stops right next to her car.

You get out of his car, so you can check if Delphine is in her own car. When you are walking towards it, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her half sitting, half lying against the car. 

“Art!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Art gets out of his car, and walks towards you. “A bullet wound?” Art says shocked, long before he actually reaches you.

Delphine is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Behind you, you can hear Art checking the surroundings. He points out the bullet hole in the car behind her. Vaguely you register that it is a good thing, even though Delphine is losing blood at an alarming rate, and has been for who knows how long. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

Art kneels next to you. He inspects Delphine’s wound, and looks at you. “We have to get her to a hospital,” he says.

You nod, Delphine definitely needs medical attention. And although you’re right underneath a building filled with doctors and operating rooms, you still need to move her to another location.

“Let me,” Art says. He gestures for you to move to the side a little. Picking Delphine up, he carefully moves her to the back of his car, while you manage to keep some pressure on the wound.

If the transfer hurts Delphine, she doesn’t show it. Holding her in place you sit down with her, all the while trying to stop the steady flow of blood.

Art turns his police siren back on, and races to the hospital. With traffic moving out of your way, the ride doesn’t last long. Delphine is slowly losing consciousness, and when she is being transferred onto a gurney at the hospital, you fear that it might be too late.

Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. Art guides you to a toilet and helps you clean the blood off your hands, while you stare in shock at the red washing down the drain.

After he sits you down in the waiting room, he leaves to call Sarah. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

Art, who returned a while ago, asks the doctor if you could go see her.

The doctor nods, and the three you of go to the recovery room. On the way there, Art asks the surgeon for details of her injury. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Okay, I’ll go call the rest to tell them you’re fine,” Art says. He nods at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” he says, and leaves you alone.

Once he is gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	58. Chapter 58

Tired, you sit down on the couch; the run up the stairs was a little too much for your damaged lungs. Delphine will get home soon; even she has to sleep. All you have to do is wait here, and hopefully then you can ask her what the matter is. All alone, and with no distractions, you get more anxious with each passing minute. You repeatedly check your phone, hoping for a message from Delphine.

After about 30 minutes, you hear a key in the lock. It is a complete stranger. He’s as surprised to see you here as you are to see him. When you ask him what he’s doing here, he tells you that he has to clean the place for the next tenant.

“What new tenant?” you ask, “Dr. Cormier lives here.”

He shakes his head, “Not anymore. She’s being taken care of right now.”

“Huh, what do you mean?”

The man shrugs. “She’ll be disposed of. Apparently she had a getaway vehicle parked at the institute, and was planning to run away.” He looks completely unimpressed with the meaning of his words. “Nobody runs away from Neolution.” The man holds the door open for you, and says, “And now, if you’d please leave me to do my job.” He gestures outside.

You want to protest, but decide against it. Better to save precious time, and run outside without another word. Maybe you can make it to the institute in time to save Delphine. When you get outside, you get back in the borrowed car and drive to the institute.

It doesn't take you very long to get there, and when you finally see the building, you drive directly to the parking lot. That seems like the most logical way to figure out if Delphine made it there, and got to her other car.

Speeding across the parking lot, you find Delphine’s assigned spot. From the elevated seat of the car, you can see that her car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

When you are walking towards the car, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her lying on the floor. 

“Delphine,” you yell, running towards her, and fall to your knees on the concrete.

You try to figure out why Delphine is lying on the floor. She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak, there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest and adding to the puddle on the floor.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

Delphine tries to say something; she sputters and struggles to sit up. It is clear that she doesn’t have the strength for it.

Firmly, you hold her down. “It’s fine. You can tell me later, save your strength,” you tell her. Worried, you look at her wound; you can see the blood gushing out of it. Delphine’s chest is heaving unevenly, trying hard to keep her alive.

Again, she flays under your hands, groaning with pain.

You tell her to stay still; this is not helping. With a bloody hand, you finally find you phone and call for help. The operator tells you an ambulance is on its way. When you turn your full attention back to Delphine, her eyes are closed and she has lost consciousness.

Yelling her name, and shaking her face, you try to wake her up. It is no use. Desperately, you keep pressure on the wound, but you can feel her pulse weakening and her breathing becoming more and more shallow.

When the paramedics finally arrive, you are clutching her lifeless body, covered in blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, you didn’t save Delphine! Try again: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	59. Chapter 59

Once again, you get into Mrs. S.’ car and drive away. Growing more anxious by the minute, you realize that you should have checked DYAD first; Delphine always works late.

Driving quickly, and with not much regard of the speed limits you reach the DYAD institute before long. You decide to take the back entrance and check Delphine’s parking spot first. Luckily, your employee card still works, and you can enter without trouble. 

Not slowing down, you speed towards Delphine’s parking spot. Driving way too fast, you almost lose control of the car when turning the last corner. You check your phone again. When you have no new messages, you look up again from your screen. You’ve already passed her allocated parking spot.

You stop and get out of the car to walk back. From twenty feet away, you can see that her car is there. Turning back to get your stuff out of the car, before you head up to her office, you see something moving in the shadows. Looking a little closer, you see her half sitting, half lying against the car. 

“Delphine,” you yell, running towards her, and fall to your knees on the concrete.

You try to figure out why Delphine is lying on the floor. She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Fumbling to get your phone out of your pocket with one hand, you try to keep a steady pressure on the wound with your other one. Once you have the phone, you smile encouragingly at Delphine and dial 911. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot. The operator tells you that an ambulance is on its way. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. Wasting no time, you get in with her. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Feeling very alone, you are pointed towards the waiting room by a nurse. Standing in the almost empty room, you call Sarah to explain what happened. She reacts shocked, though she had known that Delphine was risking her life; but even Sarah had not expected this. She promises to come find you in the hospital.

Grateful that you won’t have to be alone for very long, you sit down in one of the shabby chairs. Sarah finds you there, 30 minutes later. She brought Felix with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once. They sit down next to you, not asking for more of an explanation, but holding your hand in silent support. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

The doctor asks you whether you’d like to see her, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Felix asks the surgeon what exactly happened, since none of you where actually there. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Right, we’ll give you two some space,” Sarah says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

Crunching her nose at your blood covered clothes and arms, Delphine lies her head down on your shoulder anyway. It is her own blood after all. She closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, Delphine drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	60. Chapter 60

Tired, you sit down on the couch; the run up the stairs was a little too much for your damaged lungs. “She’ll be home soon,” you say. “It’s late, there’s no point in running all over town looking for her.”

Alison nods eagerly; apparently she doesn’t feel like driving around a dark city either. She subtly takes out her phone, and texts somebody, probably Sarah or maybe Donnie, with an update. Then she starts pacing the room, making you even more uneasy. She looks at the books stacked on the shelves, and tries to engage you in some small talk. You answer just enough to not seem impolite, but your mind is elsewhere. You check your phone every other minute, hoping for a message from Delphine.

After about 30 minutes, you hear a key in the lock. It is a complete stranger. He’s as surprised to see you here, as you are to see him. When you ask him what he’s doing here, he tells you that he has to clean the place for the next tenant.

“What new tenant?” you ask, “Dr. Cormier lives here.”

He shakes his head, “Not anymore. She’s being taken care of right now.”

“How do you mean, taken care of?” Alison joins the conversation now, standing right beside you with her hands on her hips. “What exactly does that mean?”

The man shrugs. “She’ll be disposed of. Apparently she had a getaway vehicle parked at the institute, and was planning to run away.” He looks completely unimpressed with the weight of what he’s telling you. “Nobody runs away from Neolution.” The man holds the door open for you both, and says, “And now, if you’d please leave me to do my job.” He gestures outside.

Alison protests loudly, but you run outside without wasting any precious time. Maybe you can make it to the institute in time to save Delphine. Seeing you run, Alison follows, still protesting. Once outside she does open her van for you. You don’t need to tell her that you want to go the institute.

When you finally see the building, you point Alison in the direction of the back entrance. When you say it is to avoid the guards, she is happy to use your old employee card to enter. 

“Over there is her spot,” you say, pointing in the direction where you remember Delphine’s assigned parking spot is. 

Alison follows in the direction you pointed at, and comes to a halt when you tell her that you’ve reached your destination. Even from the passenger seat of the van, you can see that Delphine’s car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

When you are walking towards the car, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her lying on the floor. 

“Alison!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Alison doesn’t know what you saw, but she comes running anyway. “Oh my goodness,” she squeals. Without losing any time, she does what you forgot and calls an ambulance. 

Meanwhile, you try to see why Delphine is lying on the floor. She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you or Alison. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, dripping onto the concrete.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Behind you, you can hear Alison explaining the situation to the operator. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot.

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. Wasting no time, you get in with her, asking Alison to explain to the others what happened. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Alison finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. She brought Felix with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once. Alison cleans you up a little, and sits you down. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

Alison helps you out, and asks, “Can we see her?”

The doctor nods, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Alison asks the surgeon a thousand questions. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers. He tells you both that it was a very close call, a few more minutes and she wouldn’t have made it.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Allrighty then, we’ll just leave you two alone,” Alison says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	61. Chapter 61

Again, you and your sister get back into Alison’s van. To your relief, Alison seems able to drive a little faster this time. Without a lot of conversation, you reach the DYAD building following your directions from Delphine’s home.

When you see the building, you point Alison in the direction of the back entrance. When you say it is to avoid the guards, she is happy to use your old employee card to enter. 

“Over there is her spot,” you say, pointing in the direction where you remember Delphine’s assigned parking spot is. 

Alison follows into the direction you pointed her at, and comes to a halt when you tell her that you’ve reached your destination. Even from the passenger seat of the van, you can see that her car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

When you are walking towards the car, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see Delphine half sitting, half lying against the car. 

“Alison!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Alison doesn’t know what you saw, but she comes running anyway. “Oh my goodness,” she squeals. Without losing any time, she does what you forgot and calls an ambulance. 

Meanwhile, you try to see why Delphine is lying on the floor. She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you or Alison. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Behind you, you can hear Alison explaining the situation to the operator. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot.

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. Wasting no time, you get in with her, asking Alison to explain to the others what happened. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Alison finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. She brought Felix with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all of the clones to a public place at once. Alison cleans you up a little, and sits you down. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

Alison helps you out, and asks, “Can we see her?”

The doctor nods, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Alison asks the surgeon a thousand questions. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Allrighty then, we’ll just leave you two alone,” Alison says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	62. Chapter 62

Tired, you sit down on the couch; the run up the stairs was a little too much for your damaged lungs. “She’ll be home soon,” you say. “It’s late, there’s no point in running all over town looking for her.”

Sarah agrees with you. She takes out her phone, and texts somebody, you have no idea who, with an update of the situation. Then she searches the kitchen for a drink, pouring you one as well. You take the glass of bourbon, and slowly sip on it. Your sister sits down next to you, and tries to tell you that Delphine is fine. You nod, even though you have trouble believing her. You check your phone every other minute, hoping for a message from Delphine.

After about 30 minutes, you hear a key in the lock. It is a complete stranger. He’s as surprised to see you here as you are to see him. When you ask him what he’s doing here, he tells you that he has to clean the place for the next tenant.

“What new tenant?” you ask, “Dr. Cormier lives here.”

He shakes his head, “Not anymore. She’s being taken care of as we speak.”

“Taken care of?” Sarah joins the conversation, standing right beside you holding one of Delphine’s kitchen knives. “What the hell does that mean?”

The man shrugs. “She’ll be disposed of. Apparently she had a getaway vehicle parked at the institute, and was planning to run away.” He looks completely unimpressed with the two women standing in front of him. “Nobody runs away from Neolution.” The man holds the door open for you both, and says, “And now, if you’d please leave me to do my job.” He gestures outside.

Sarah swears at him, but you run outside without wasting any precious time. Maybe you can make it to the institute in time to save Delphine. Seeing you run, Sarah follows. Once outside she does open the car for you. You don’t need to tell her that you want to go the institute.

Within minutes, you see the familiar building. You point Sarah to the parking garage, telling her that you can avoid the security guards. Driving a little too fast, you reach the other side, and Delphine’s spot rapidly. You stop right next to Delphine’s assigned spot. Even from the passenger’s seat, you can see that her car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

When you are walking towards the car, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her lying on the asphalt. 

“Sarah,” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Quickly, Sarah runs towards you. “Shite,” she mutters. “Delphine.”

Ignoring Sarah’s useless input, you try to see why Delphine is lying on the floor. She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you or Sarah. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to say anything; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest and dripping to the floor.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you. “Sarah, call an ambulance!” you yell at your sister.

“Right, of course,” Sarah says. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot. You can hear Sarah dialling, and then talking to the operator.

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. Wasting no time, you get in with her, asking Sarah to explain to the others what happened. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Sarah finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. She brought Felix with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once. Together, they bring you to the waiting area, and sit you down. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

The doctor asks you whether you’d like to see her, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Felix asks the surgeon what exactly happened, since none of you where actually there. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers. He explains that it was a close call, it was good that you found her when you did, and not a minute later.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Right, we’ll give you two some space,” Sarah says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

Crunching her nose at your blood covered clothes and arms, Delphine lies her head down on your shoulder anyway. It is her own blood after all. She closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, Delphine drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	63. Chapter 63

Once again, you and your sister get into the car. This time you’re driving, while Sarah sits in the passenger’s seat. This area you’re more familiar with, and so you quickly get to your old work place. Without slowing down, you drive around the building and into the garage.

“There is a spot right there,” Sarah points at it while you pass by.

“Yeah, I just want to check if her car is here,” you explain.

Sarah nods, and sits back. 

Driving a little too fast for a parking lot, you reach the other side, and Delphine’s spot rapidly. You stop right next to Delphine’s assigned spot. Even from the car, you can see that her car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

When you are walking towards the car, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her half sitting, half lying against the car. 

“Sarah!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Quickly, Sarah runs towards you. “Shite,” she mutters. “Delphine.”

Ignoring Sarah’s useless input, you try to see why Delphine is lying on the floor. She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you or Sarah. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you. “Sarah, call an ambulance!” you yell at your sister.

“Right, of course,” Sarah says. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot. You can hear Sarah dialling, and then talking to the operator.

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. Wasting no time, you get in with her, asking Sarah to explain to the others what happened. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Sarah finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. She brought Felix with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once. Together, they bring you to the waiting area, and sit you down. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

The doctor asks you whether you’d like to see her, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Felix asks the surgeon what exactly happened, since none of you where actually there. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Right, we’ll give you two some space,” Sarah says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

Crunching her nose at your blood covered clothes and arms, Delphine lies her head down on your shoulder anyway. It is her own blood after all. She closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, Delphine drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	64. Chapter 64

Tired, you sit down on the couch; the run up the stairs was a little too much for your damaged lungs. “She’ll be home soon,” you say. “It’s late, there’s no point in running all over town looking for her.”

Shay nods, “Of course.” She sits down next to you, leaving a respectable distance. Awkwardly, she doesn’t say anything, and looks around at Delphine’s home. It is very different from her home, much more minimalistic, but she doesn’t comment on it. Silently, you wait and check your phone every other minute, hoping for a message from Delphine.

After about 30 minutes, you hear a key in the lock. It is a complete stranger. He’s as surprised to see you here as you are to see him. When you ask him what he’s doing here, he tells you that he has to clean the place for the next tenant.

“What new tenant?” you ask, “Dr. Cormier lives here.”

He shakes his head, “Not anymore. She’s being taken care of as we speak.”

“What?” Shay joins the conversation, standing next to you. “How?”

The man shrugs. “She’ll be disposed of. Apparently she had a getaway vehicle parked at the institute, and was planning to run away.” He looks completely unimpressed with the severity of his words. “Nobody runs away from Neolution.” The man holds the door open for you both, and says, “And now, if you’d please leave me to do my job.” He gestures outside.

Shay gapes at him with an open mouth, but you run outside without wasting any precious time. Maybe you can make it to the institute in time to save Delphine. Seeing you run, Shay follows. Once outside she does open the car for you. You don’t need to ask her to take you the institute.

She drives the Beetle through the dark streets, following your directions. Before long, you see the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, and you get a squeamish feeling in your stomach. You tell Shay to go to the parking garage. So you can check Delphine’s assigned parking spot, to see if she’s there. You get into the garage without trouble, and Shay follows the direction you point her at. 

Carefully driving through the empty parking lot, you reach the other side. You stop right next to Delphine’s assigned spot. Even from the passenger’s seat, you can see that her car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

Walking around the front of the Beetle, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. 

“Shay!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Quickly, Shay gets out of her car and runs towards you. “Oh,” she stops in her tracks when she sees the other woman lying on the floor.

Ignoring Shay’s useless input, you try to see why Delphine is lying on the floor. She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you or Shay. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you. “Shay, do something. Please.”

“Right, yes,” Shay says. She gets back to her car, and in the distance you can hear her calling for an ambulance. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.” 

Shay sits down next to you, and she helps getting Delphine in a more comfortable position. Something in the way she seems to know what to do, tells you this isn’t the first time Shay has seen somebody this wounded.

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. You give Shay Sarah’s number, and ask her to tell her what happened. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Sarah finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. She brought Felix with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once. Sarah tells you that Shay called, like you asked, but Shay thought she should give you some privacy with Delphine, and hoped you’d let her know when Delphine is all right. You nod at this information; without Shay’s help, Delphine would still be in that parking lot.

Together, Sarah and Felix bring you to the waiting area, and sit you down. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

The doctor asks you whether you’d like to see her, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Felix asks the surgeon what exactly happened, since none of you were actually there. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers. He tells you that it was a very close call; they almost gave up on her.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Right, we’ll give you two some space,” Sarah says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

Crunching her nose at your blood covered clothes and arms, Delphine lies her head down on your shoulder anyway. It is her own blood after all. She closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, Delphine drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	65. Chapter 65

Again, you both get into the vintage car. Shay follows your directions to the DYAD institute. Aside from telling Shay to turn a corner every once in a while, you don’t say anything at all. Nervously, you check your phone repeatedly. There is never an answer from Delphine.

Silently, you reach your destination. Looking up at the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, you get a squeamish feeling in your stomach. Part of you wants to turn back, but you know that you won’t forgive yourself if something does happen.

Shay asks you where to park, and you tell her to go to the parking garage. Checking Delphine’s assigned parking spot might help to see if she’s there. You get into the garage without trouble, and Shay follows the direction you point her at. 

Carefully driving through the empty parking lot, you reach the other side. You stop right next to Delphine’s assigned spot. Even from the passenger’s seat, you can see that her car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

Walking around the front of the Beetle, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her half sitting, half lying against the car. 

“Shay!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Quickly, Shay gets out of her car and runs towards you. “Oh,” she stops in her tracks when she sees the other woman lying on the floor.

Ignoring Shay’s useless input, you try to see why Delphine is lying on the floor. She is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, not able to recognize you or Shay. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest and dripping on the concrete below her.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you. “Shay, do something. Please.”

“Right, yes,” Shay says. She gets back to her car, and in the distance you can hear her calling for an ambulance. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. Judging by the hole in the car behind her, she has been shot. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.” 

Shay sits down next to you, and she helps getting Delphine in a more comfortable position. Something in the way she seems to know what to do, tells you this isn’t the first time Shay has seen somebody this wounded.

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. You give Shay Sarah’s number, and ask her to tell her what happened. 

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Sarah finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. She brought Felix with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once. Sarah tells you that Shay called, like you asked, but Shay thought she should give you some privacy with Delphine, and hoped you’d let her know when Delphine is all right. You nod at this information; without Shay’s help, Delphine would still be in that parking lot.

Together, Sarah and Felix bring you to the waiting area, and sit you down. At every doctor entering the waiting room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

The doctor asks you whether you’d like to see her, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Felix asks the surgeon what exactly happened, since none of you were actually there. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Right, we’ll give you two some space,” Sarah says. She smiles at Delphine. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she says, and pulls Felix out of the room.

When they’re gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also glad you’re alive.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

Crunching her nose at your blood covered clothes and arms, Delphine lies her head down on your shoulder anyway. It is her own blood after all. She closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, Delphine drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	66. Chapter 66

Tired, you sit down on the couch; the run up the stairs was a little too much for your damaged lungs. “She’ll be home soon,” you say. “It’s late, there’s no point in running all over town looking for her.”

Helena agrees with you. However, she doesn’t join you. From your seat, you watch her as she opens all the cupboards in the kitchen, occasionally picking objects up to have a closer look. She finds a still closed pack of biscuits, and starts eating them. When she offers you some, you refuse. Your sister walking around the living room, reading the titles of the books and going through Delphine’s things distracts you somewhat from the reason you’re here. You’re pretty sure Delphine wouldn’t mind it. Keeping an eye on Helena, you check your phone every other minute, hoping for a message from Delphine.

After about 30 minutes, you hear a key in the lock. It is a complete stranger. He’s as surprised to see you here as you are to see him. When you ask him what he’s doing here, he tells you that he has to clean the place for the next tenant.

“What new tenant?” you ask, “Dr. Cormier lives here.”

He shakes his head, “Not anymore. She’s being taken care of as we speak.”

“Taken care of?” Helena asks, standing next to you. “You mean to kill her?”

The man shrugs. “She’ll be disposed of. Apparently she had a getaway vehicle parked at the institute, and was planning to run away.” He looks completely unimpressed with the severity of his words. “Nobody runs away from Neolution.” The man holds the door open for you both, and says, “And now, if you’d please leave me to do my job.” He gestures outside.

Helena makes a gesture at the man, you do not know what it means, but you fear for his life. Not wasting any precious time, you run outside. Maybe you can make it to the institute in time to save Delphine. Seeing you run, Helena follows you to the car. Once outside you open the car door for Helena, before you climb in yourself.

Luckily, Delphine doesn’t live far from the DYAD institute. Within a matter of minutes, you reach the familiar building. Without slowing down, you drive around the building and into the parking garage. Helena watches as you scan your employee card, which by some miracle still works. Hurriedly, you follow the endless rows of, mostly, empty parking spots, until you finally stop at the other side of the parking lot, at Delphine’s assigned spot. You can see that her car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

When you are walking towards the car, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her lying on the floor. 

“Helena!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Helena was already out of the car, but now runs towards you. “Oh, no, she says, “Somebody shot her!”

Delphine is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, she doesn’t seem to recognize you. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest and onto the floor beside her.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Next to you, Helena squats down. She points out the bullet hole in the car behind her. Vaguely you register that it is a good thing, even though Delphine is losing blood at an alarming rate, and has been for who knows how long. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but she does recognize you now.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

Helena inspects Delphine’s wound, and looks at you. “She needs help,” she says.

You nod, Delphine definitely needs medical attention. And even though you’re right underneath a building filled with doctors and operating rooms, you still need to move her to another location. “Helena, call an ambulance,” you say, irritated that she’s not helping you much.

“Yes, an ambulance,” Helena says and takes her clone phone out of her pocket. “What number?”

Confused, you look at her. Of course Helena doesn’t know the Canadian emergency number; she grew very different from you, and probably never even owned a phone before today. You tell her the number, and what to say and turn your attention back to Delphine.

Helena gets up and calls, it sounds like she’s doing fine. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.” 

Helena sits back down next to you, and she helps getting Delphine in a more comfortable position. She holds out a roll of duct tape, she probably found in the car. You start to protest, but Delphine indicates it is all right. She is the doctor of the three of you, so you help Helena tape the entrance wound. Closing of the exit wound is a bit trickier, and it is clearly hurting her, but she bleeding does slow down significantly. It is disturbing to see how well your sister knows how to help Delphine; she has been shot herself, you recall.

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. You ask Helena to call Sarah to tell her what happened.

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Helena finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. She brought Donnie with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once, but your sister did want to come and find you. Helena cleans you up a little in one of the bathrooms, telling you Delphine will be fine. You have trouble believing her, even though you know she survived worse. Donnie sits you down in the waiting room, and you wait. At every doctor entering the room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you feel the tears streaming down your face. 

The doctor asks if you want to see her. You tell her you do, and the four you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Donnie asks the surgeon what exactly happened. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers. She tells you that she came very close to dying, she had been bleeding out for a while, and couldn’t have suffered much more blood loss.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Uhm, we should probably go,” Donnie says. 

Helena protests, but at his insistence, she does leave. Before she goes, she tells Delphine, “I’m happy you’re not dead.”

Once he is gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also very happy you’re not dead.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	67. Chapter 67

Quickly you walk back to the car, Helena follows you. Again, you both climb into the car and start driving. This time you’re definitely driving too fast, but the lack of an answer from Delphine is only fuelling your worries.

Helena looks out of the windows, pointing at things she finds interesting. Any other time, you’d happily slow down and see the world through your clone’s eyes, but today you’re in a hurry. Luckily, Delphine doesn’t live far from the DYAD institute. 

Without slowing down, you drive around the building and into the parking garage. Helena watches as you scan your employee card, which by some miracle still works. Hurriedly, you follow the endless rows of, mostly, empty parking spots, until you finally stop at the other side of the parking lot, at Delphine’s assigned spot. You can see that her car is here. Still, you get out to check if she isn’t in the car.

When you are walking towards the car, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her half sitting, half lying against the car. 

“Helena!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Helena was already out of the car, but now runs towards you. “Oh, no, she says, “Somebody shot her!”

Delphine is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, she doesn’t seem to recognize you. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Next to you, Helena squats down. She points out the bullet hole in the car behind her. Vaguely you register that it is a good thing, even though Delphine is losing blood at an alarming rate, and has been for who knows how long. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but she does recognize you now.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

Helena inspects Delphine’s wound, and looks at you. “She needs help,” she says.

You nod, Delphine definitely needs medical attention. And even though right underneath a building filled with doctors and operating rooms, you still need to move her to another location. “Helena, call an ambulance,” you say, irritated that she’s not helping you much.

“Yes, an ambulance,” Helena says and takes her clone phone out of her pocket. “What number?”

Confused, you look at her. Of course Helena doesn’t know the Canadian emergency number; she grew very different from you, and probably never even owned a phone before today. You tell her the number, and what to say and turn your attention back to Delphine.

Helena gets up and calls, it sounds like she’s doing fine. Alerting the authorities might be something you’ve been trying to avoid all along, but right now you need to save Delphine. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but at least she does recognize you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.” 

Helena sits back down next to you, and she helps getting Delphine in a more comfortable position. She holds out a roll of duct tape; confused you shake your head. Helena starts to unroll it, and tries to cover the wound with it. Hesitantly, you help her. To your surprise, it does seem to stop the bleeding somewhat better than your own hands. It is disturbing to see how well your sister knows how to help Delphine; she has been shot herself, you recall.

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. You ask Helena to call Sarah to tell her what happened.

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Helena finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. She brought Donnie with her; they figured it would be safer not to bring all the clones to a public place at once, but your sister did want to come and find you. Helena cleans you up a little in one of the bathrooms, telling you Delphine will be fine. You have trouble believing her, even though you know she survived worse. Donnie sits you down in the waiting room, and you wait. At every doctor entering the room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

The doctor asks if you want to see her. You tell him you do, and the four of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Donnie asks the surgeon what exactly happened. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Uhm, we should probably go,” Donnie says. 

Helena protests, but at his insistence, she does leave. Before she goes, she tells Delphine, “I’m happy you’re not death.”

Once he is gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m also very happy you’re not death.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	68. Chapter 68

Tired, you sit down on the couch; the run up the stairs was a little too much for your damaged lungs. “She’ll be home soon,” you say. “It’s late, there’s no point in running all over town looking for her.”

Scott agrees with you. He sits down next to you, and tries to convince you that you blew the whole thing out of proportion. Delphine is probably fine, he tells you repeatedly. When you try explaining to him why you are so worried, you get into a coughing fit. He gets you a glass of water, and doesn’t try to talk to you anymore. He’s clearly uncomfortable with the situation, and doesn’t want to cause another coughing fit. You’re fine with the lack of conversation, and silently you wait together on Delphine’s couch. Every other minute, you check your phone, hoping for a message from Delphine.

After about 30 minutes, you hear a key in the lock. It is a complete stranger. He’s as surprised to see you here as you are to see him. When you ask him what he’s doing here, he tells you that he has to clean the place for the next tenant.

“What new tenant?” you ask, “Dr. Cormier lives here.”

He shakes his head, “Not anymore. She’s being taken care of as we speak.”

“What?” Scott says, as he joins you. “How do you mean, taken care of?”

The man shrugs. “She’ll be disposed of. Apparently she had a getaway vehicle parked at the institute, and was planning to run away.” He looks completely unimpressed with the severity of his words “Nobody runs away from Neolution.” The man holds the door open for you both, and says, “And now, if you’d please leave me to do my job.” He gestures outside.

Scott makes a shocked sound, he looks at you for your input, but you ignore him. Not wasting any precious time, you run outside. Maybe you can make it to the institute in time to save Delphine. Seeing you run, Scott follows you to the car. When you’re both outside, he asks you what to do.

“Go find her, of course!” you say impatiently. “DYAD, now please!”

He nods and gets his car keys. When the car is finally open, you both get in, and he immediately starts driving. Before long, you see the DYAD institute. Looking up at the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, an ominous feeling fills you.

You ask Scott to take the back entrance, that way you can check Delphine’s parking spot to make sure she’s really here. His employee card is still working, and you enter the parking lot without any trouble.

Scott drives in the direction you point him at, where you vaguely remember Delphine’s parking spot to be located. Scott stops a few feet from Delphine’s assigned parking spot, not bothering to park in an actual parking spot.

You hop out of the car, just to check if Delphine is in her own car. When you are walking towards it, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her half sitting, half lying against the car. 

“Scott!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Stumbling, Scott gets out of his seat, and runs towards you. “Oh,” he says, “Oh no.”

Delphine is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, she doesn’t seem to recognize you or Scott. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest and dripping onto the floor.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Next to you, Scott kneels down. He is clearly panicking and not much use. Somehow, his rattling on about wounds helps you focus. “Scott,” you interrupt him. “Call, like, an ambulance or something!”

“Yes, good idea.” He stumbles to his feet and does as you tell him. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but she does recognize you now.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

Scott sits back down next to you. He has calmed a little, and has taken off his jacket. As he tells Delphine that help is coming, he puts the jacket down under her head. Then he points out the bullet in the car above Delphine; she was shot.

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. You ask Scott to call Sarah to tell her what happened.

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Scott finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. He tells you that the others were very shocked, but they did not all want to impose on you in the hospital. He promised to keep them updated. Then he gently pushes you into a bathroom, telling you to clean yourself up a little.

Once you have scrubbed the worst of the blood from your hands and out of your clothes, you find him in the waiting room, and you wait. Scott tries to tell you that Delphine will be fine, she’s tough, but you can’t really believe him. At every doctor entering the room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

Scott asks if you can go see her, and the doctor agrees. You tell him you do, and the three of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Scott asks the surgeon for dozens of details on her injury. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers. He explains that she lost a lot of blood; she almost did not make it.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Uhm, I uhm, I should give you some privacy,” Scott says. He waves at Delphine, and leaves, already pulling out his phone to update the clone club.

Once he is gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


	69. Chapter 69

Once again, you both get into Scott’s car. He drives to your old workplace without hesitating once. Quietly, you sit in the passenger seat, twisting the rings around your fingers. Scott mentions that Delphine is probably at work, she seems to be there at all times of the day, and night. You nod, it is true, she works a lot.

Before long, you see the DYAD institute. Looking up at the building you had thought you’d never see again, or at least not so soon, an ominous feeling fills you.

You ask Scott to take the back entrance, that way you can check Delphine’s parking spot to make sure she’s really here. His employee card is still working, and you enter the parking lot without any trouble.

Scott drives in the direction you point him at, where you vaguely remember Delphine’s parking spot to be located. Scott stops a few feet from Delphine’s assigned parking spot, not bothering to park in an actual parking spot.

You hop out of the car, just to check if Delphine’s is in her own car. When you are walking towards it, you spot a movement from the shadows of a random car to your left. Looking a little closer, you see her half sitting, half lying against the car. 

“Scott!” you yell for help, before you run towards Delphine, and kneel next to her.

Stumbling, Scott gets out of his seat, and runs towards you. “Oh,” he says, “Oh no.”

Delphine is still conscious, but barely. Her unfocused eyes flutter about, she doesn’t seem to recognize you or Scott. Against the bright white of her blouse, it is clear why she is lying on the floor of a parking lot, unable to speak; there is a large patch of red, quickly spreading across her chest and dripping onto the floor.

“Delphine,” you say, as you press on the wound with one hand. “Delphine, stay with me. Don’t close your eyes.” Your other hand supports her head, while you force her to look at you.

Next to you, Scott kneels down. He is clearly panicking and not much use. Somehow, his rattling on about wounds helps you focus. “Scott,” you interrupt him. “Call, like, an ambulance or something!”

“Yes, good idea.” He stumbles to his feet and does as you tell him. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. She is clearly in a lot of pain, but she does recognize you now.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here,” you say. You stroke her cheek, while you keep pressure on the wound with your other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

Scott sits back down next to you. He has calmed a little, and has taken off his jacket. As he tells Delphine that help is coming, he puts the jacket down under her head. Then he points out the bullet in the car above Delphine; she was shot.

The ambulance takes forever to arrive. When it finally does, the paramedics lift a, now unconscious Delphine, into the back of the ambulance. You ask Scott to call Sarah to tell her what happened.

The ride to the hospital does not take long, though if feels like an eternity. Without stopping, Delphine is rushed into an O.R. leaving you standing in the middle of the emergency room, covered in her blood. 

Scott finds you still standing there, 30 minutes later. He tells you that the others were very shocked, but they did not all want to impose on you in the hospital. He promised to keep them updated. Then he gently pushes you into a bathroom, telling you to clean yourself up a little.

Once you have scrubbed the worst of the blood from your hands and out of your clothes, you find him in the waiting room, and you wait. Scott tries to tell you that Delphine will be fine, she’s tough, but you can’t really believe him. At every doctor entering the room, you jump up from the chair. When finally a surgeon does stop in front of you, you fear the worst. It has barely been two hours.

The doctor sits you down, and tells you that Delphine should be fine. They managed to stop the bleeding, and since she is tough, she will most likely survive. Delphine is in recovery now, and hopefully will wake up soon. Of course she will have to stay in the hospital for a while, she lost a lot of blood and needs to be monitored, the doctor explains.

Relieved, you start sobbing. 

Scott asks if you can go see her, and the doctor agrees. You tell him you do, and the three of you go to the recovery room. On the way there, Scott asks the surgeon for dozens of details on her injury. Though you can’t bring yourself to speak, you still listen to the answers.

In the recovery room, Delphine is hooked up to numerous wires and tubes. She is pale, but breathing steadily. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, you take her hand. The doctor mentions that it might still be a while before she wakes up. You don’t react. Intently, you stare at Delphine’s face, waiting for her to wake up.

It doesn’t take Delphine very long. First she squeezes your hand, and then she slowly opens her eyes. When her eyes find yours, she smiles at you.

“Hey,” you say, not knowing what else to say. If only you had realized that something was wrong with her sooner, you might have saved her this pain. At least Delphine is alive, that is the most important part, and so you stick with a simple greeting.

“Hi, Cosima,” Delphine says.

“Uhm, I uhm, I should give you some privacy,” Scott says. He waves at Delphine, and leaves, already pulling out his phone to update the clone club.

Once he is gone, you intertwine your fingers with Delphine’s. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

She smiles down at you, she looks awfully tired. Delphine nods, “So am I.” Weakly, she pats the bed beside her, inviting you up.

Carefully, you sit down next to her. Afraid to hurt her, or crush any of the wires or tubes she’s connected to, you wrap your arms around her and hold her.

With a soft sigh, Delphine closes her eyes. Safely in your arms, she drifts into a healing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations, you saved Delphine! Would you like to check out another storyline? Go back to the start: [[ 1 ]](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434863/chapters/14729767)


End file.
